SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING CONTAINERS CONTAINING ITEMS

Abstract

A system is disclosed that includes a conveyor belt track, a transceiver, and a processor. The conveyor belt track can be configured to move a container from a first location to a second location. The second location can be near a motorized plate positioned within a vehicle interior compartment. The motorized plate can be configured to pick up the container from the conveyor belt track and move it to a predefined position within the vehicle interior compartment. The transceiver can be configured to receive a wheel speed signal associated with the motorized plate. The processor can be configured to receive a trigger signal and, in response to receiving the trigger signal, obtain the wheel speed signal from the transceiver.The processor can also be configured to activate the conveyor belt track to initiate a container movement at a predefined speed from the first location to the second location in response to the wheel reaching rotational speed.

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for loading and unloading containers containing items such as packages, food, parts, etc. GENERAL STATE OF THE ART

[0002] With the continued growth of internet-based commerce, parcel delivery is increasingly being used to deliver goods to customers. E-commerce is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, particularly in the United States.

[0003] This unprecedented growth is being welcomed by e-commerce companies; however, this rapid growth is also leading to operational challenges in the supply chain. E-commerce companies and their delivery partners are delivering an ever-increasing number of packages per day while trying to limit resource expenditures (e.g., personnel costs, etc.) and reduce delivery times.

[0004] Currently, various approaches are being used to optimize the process of loading and unloading delivery packages into and from a delivery vehicle. For example, e-commerce companies load packages with similar delivery addresses close together into a delivery vehicle to achieve efficiency gains when unloading packages. Furthermore, e-commerce companies are optimizing delivery routes for their delivery vehicles to reduce energy consumption and package delivery time.

[0005] While traditional processes implemented by e-commerce companies are effective in achieving efficiency gains, challenges remain that cause inconvenience for vehicle drivers and / or the e-commerce companies themselves. For example, loading / unloading delivery packages into / from a delivery vehicle at a warehouse is still a manual process and therefore requires resources that may be unavailable or expensive.

[0006] Thus, there is a need for a system and method that facilitates the autonomous loading / unloading of packages into / from a delivery vehicle.

[0007] The revelation in this writing is presented with regard to these and other considerations. SUMMARY

[0008] The present disclosure describes a warehouse management system and method for loading and unloading containers into / from a delivery vehicle in a warehouse or facility. Each container may store one or more delivery packages that can be delivered by the delivery vehicle to respective delivery locations. In some aspects, the system may include a first conveyor belt configured to move containers from a container packing area to the delivery vehicle. In particular, the first conveyor belt may be configured to load containers containing the delivery packages into the delivery vehicle. The system may further include a second conveyor belt configured to unload empty containers from the delivery vehicle.

[0009] In one example aspect, when the delivery vehicle reaches the warehouse and may be located near the first and second conveyor belts, the system may activate the second conveyor belt to enable the unloading of empty containers from the delivery vehicle. In some aspects, the delivery vehicle may include a plurality of motorized plates on which the containers may be stored / secured. In some aspects, in addition to activating the second conveyor belt, the system may cause movement of the motorized plates in the delivery vehicle to cause movement of empty containers toward the second conveyor belt. In response to picking up the empty containers from the motorized plates, the second conveyor belt may unload or discharge the empty containers from the delivery vehicle and move the empty containers toward the container packing area or an empty container storage area in the warehouse.

[0010] In response to the empty containers being unloaded from the delivery vehicle, the system may activate the first conveyor belt to move containers packed with delivery packages from the container packing area toward the delivery vehicle for loading the containers into the delivery vehicle. In some aspects, when the containers reach the delivery vehicle, the motorized plates may pick up the containers from the first conveyor belt and move the containers to respective predefined storage locations within the vehicle interior compartment.

[0011] In some aspects, the system may activate the first and second conveyor belts based on a wheel speed of the wheels included in the motorized plates. In an example aspect, the system may activate the first conveyor belt at a speed that may be less than or equal to the wheel speed and the second conveyor belt at a speed that may be greater than or equal to the wheel speed. The system may activate the first and second conveyor belts at their respective speeds to ensure that empty containers or containers packed with delivery packages do not pile up on the conveyor belt and / or the motorized plates included in the delivery vehicle.

[0012] In further aspects, the system may include a container staging area and a loading platform or loading device, which may be located near the delivery vehicle and conveyor belts (e.g., bidirectional conveyor belts). The system may pre-store the containers packed with the delivery packages in the container staging area. In some aspects, the container staging area and the loading device may include one or more motorized plates that may enable container movement within the container staging area and the loading device. In this case, when the delivery vehicle arrives near the loading device, the system may activate the plurality of motorized plates included in the delivery vehicle to unload / unload the empty containers from the delivery vehicle using the loading device and conveyor belts.The system may further activate the motorized plates included in the container staging area and the loading device to move the containers packed with the delivery packages from the container staging area to the delivery vehicle.

[0013] In additional aspects, the system may include one or more buffers that can pre-store the containers to be loaded onto the delivery vehicle before the delivery vehicle arrives at the warehouse or is located near the loading device. In this case, the system may cause the containers stored in the buffer to move toward the container storage area when the system determines that the delivery vehicle may have reached the warehouse to load the containers, or when the system determines that the container storage area may be empty.

[0014] The present disclosure discloses a warehouse management system and method. The system enables autonomous loading and unloading of containers / delivery packages into / from a delivery vehicle, thereby reducing manual effort. Furthermore, the system enables rapid loading and unloading of containers / packages using container staging areas and loading devices, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the warehouse.

[0015] These and other advantages of the present disclosure are provided in detail in this document. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The detailed description is presented with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical elements. Different elements and / or components than those illustrated in the drawings may be used for different embodiments, and some elements and / or components may not be present in different embodiments. The elements and / or components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout the disclosure, the singular and plural terms may be used interchangeably, depending on the context. Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed in this document may be implemented. Fig. 2 illustrates a first exemplary arrangement of components of a warehouse management system in a warehouse according to the present disclosure. The Fig. 3A, Fig. 3B, Fig. 3C and Fig. 3D illustrates first exemplary stages in loading and unloading containers into / from a delivery vehicle according to the present disclosure. Fig. 4 illustrates a second exemplary arrangement of components of a warehouse management system in a warehouse according to the present disclosure. The Fig. 5A, Fig. 5B, Fig. 5C and Fig. 5D illustrate second exemplary stages in loading and unloading containers into / from a delivery vehicle in accordance with the present disclosure. The Fig. 6A, Fig. 6B, Fig. 6C and Fig. 6D illustrate third exemplary stages in loading and unloading containers into / from a delivery vehicle according to the present disclosure. Fig. 7 illustrates a third exemplary arrangement of components of a warehouse management system in a warehouse according to the present disclosure. Fig. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method for facilitating loading and unloading of containers in accordance with the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The disclosure is described in more detail below in this specification with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown and are not intended to be limiting.

[0018] Fig. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. The environment 100 may include a delivery vehicle 102 (or vehicle 102), which may be a truck, a van (including walk-in vans), a truck trailer, and / or the like. In some aspects, the vehicle 102 may be an autonomous vehicle. In other aspects, a driver (not shown) may operate the vehicle 102. Further, the vehicle 102 may include any powertrain, such as a gasoline engine, one or more electrically actuated motors, a hybrid system, etc.

[0019] The vehicle 102 may include one or more layers or rows of a plurality of motorized panels 104 arranged in a vehicle interior portion. In the exemplary aspect shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle 102 includes three rows of the plurality of motorized panels 104 arranged one above the other in the vehicle interior section. The present disclosure is not limited to the aspect that the vehicle 102 has three rows of the plurality of motorized panels 104, as shown in Fig. 1. The vehicle 102 may include more or fewer than three rows without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0020] In an exemplary aspect, each motorized plate 104 may have a rectangular or square shape (as in Fig. 1) and four edges 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d. Each edge 104a-d may include one or more locks 106 that may be configured to move / slide along the lengths of the respective edges 104a-d. Each motorized platen 104 may further include a first set of wheels 108 that may be configured to rotate in one direction (e.g., a first direction) and a second set of wheels 110 that may be configured to rotate in a different direction (e.g., a second direction). In some aspects, the first direction may be perpendicular to the second direction. Further, in one example aspect, a rotational speed of each wheel 108, 110 ("wheel speed") may be the same.

[0021] Each motorized plate 104 may be configured to hold / store a container 112 and / or move the container 112 from one location to another within the vehicle interior compartment using the wheels 108 or 110 based on a command signal obtained from a vehicle processor (not shown). Specifically, in response to receiving the command signal from the vehicle processor, one of the first and second sets of wheels 108, 110 may rotate at a preset wheel speed, and the detents 106 on the respective edges 104a-d may "slide away" from each other to position themselves at the corners of the motorized plate 104. In this arrangement, when a container 112 is placed on the motorized plate 104 or contacts the moving wheels 108 or 110, the container 112 may move on the motorized plate 104.For example, if the second wheels 110 rotate clockwise and the container 112 contacts the rotating second wheels 110, the container 112 may slide or move from the edge 104a toward the edge 104c. In this way, the motorized plate 104 may facilitate container movement on the motorized plate 104 in response to receiving the command signal from the vehicle processor.

[0022] In further aspects, in response to receiving another command signal from the vehicle processor, the motorized plate 104 can stop wheel movement (e.g., the second wheels 110) and cause the locks 106 at respective edges 104a-d to slide toward each other. In this arrangement, the container 112 can be stored on the motorized plate 104. In some aspects, the locks 106 slide toward each other in this arrangement to prevent the container from sliding off the motorized plate 104. Such an arrangement can be used when the container 112 may need to be transported or securely retained within the vehicle 102.

[0023] In some aspects, each container 112 may be configured to hold one or more packages (in Fig. 3D as a delivery package 306). In an example aspect, the location of each bin 112 within the vehicle 102 and the allocation of each package within each bin 112 may be optimally pre-planned or pre-set so that unloading of each package from the vehicle 102 may occur in a convenient manner (e.g., when the vehicle 102 reaches a package delivery location).

[0024] The environment 100 may further include a warehouse management system including an inventory unit 114 and one or more conveyor belts or conveyor belt tracks 116a, 116b, 116c, 116d, 116n communicatively coupled to one another via one or more networks 118. The networks 118 illustrate an example communication infrastructure in which the connected devices discussed in various embodiments of this disclosure may communicate. The network(s) 118 may be and / or include the Internet, a private network, a public network, or another configuration operating using any one or more known communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Bluetooth ® , BLE ®, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, ultra-wideband (UWB) and cellular technologies such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPDA), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Fifth Generation (5G), to name just a few.

[0025] In some aspects, one set of conveyor belts, e.g., conveyor belts 116a, 116d, and 116n, may be configured to transport / move the container 112 toward the plurality of motorized plates 104, and another set of conveyor belts, e.g., conveyor belts 116b and 116c, may be configured to transport / move the container 112 away from the plurality of motorized plates 104. Each conveyor belt 116a-n may include barriers (made of low-friction material) or roller skirts to ensure stable and secure container placement on the conveyor belts 116a-n.

[0026] In some aspects, a number of conveyor belts in the warehouse management system may depend on a number of rows / layers of the plurality of motorized plates 104 in the vehicle 102 and a number of columns of motorized plates in each row. For example, as in Fig. 1, when the vehicle 102 includes three rows and each row has three columns of motorized plates 104 (in Fig. 1 as C1, C2, and C3), the warehouse management system may include nine conveyor belts. In particular, in this case, each column of each row may have an associated conveyor belt that may be configured to facilitate loading or unloading of containers onto / from the motorized plates 104 included in the column. For example, conveyor belt 116a may be configured to transport containers to and facilitate loading of containers onto the motorized plates 104 included in column C3, and conveyor belts 116b and 116c may be configured to transport containers from and facilitate unloading of containers from the motorized plates 104 included in columns C1 and C2.

[0027] Although the above description describes an aspect in which the vehicle 102 includes three rows / layers of motorized plates 104 and each row includes three columns, the present disclosure is not limited to such an arrangement of motorized plates 104. In other aspects, the vehicle 102 may include more or fewer rows / layers and each layer may include more or fewer than three columns without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In this case, the warehouse management system may include more or fewer than the nine conveyor belts described above.

[0028] The inventory unit 114 may be configured to control activation and movement of each conveyor belt 116a-n. In some aspects, the inventory unit 114 may be communicatively coupled to the vehicle 102 and a server 120 via the network(s) 118. The inventory unit 114 may control activation and movement of the conveyor belt based on inputs received from the server 120 and / or the vehicle 102, as described in detail later in the description below.

[0029] In some aspects, the server 120 may be part of the warehouse management system. In other aspects, the server 120 may be separate from the warehouse management system. The server 120 may be associated with an e-commerce company and / or a delivery partner of the company and may store information associated with the vehicle 102 (and other vehicles that may be part of a vehicle fleet), the containers 112, and the packages that may be stored in each container 112. In an example aspect, the information may include, among other things, a number of rows / layers of the plurality of motorized plates 104 in the vehicle 102, a number of columns in each row / layer in the vehicle 102, a wheel speed associated with each wheel 108, 110, a planned delivery route for the vehicle 102, identifiers, and information (e.g., dimension, weight, etc.).) associated with each container 112 loaded or to be loaded into the vehicle 102, identifiers and information (e.g., dimension, weight, etc.) associated with each delivery package stored in each container 112 loaded or to be loaded into the vehicle 102, an optimized allocation of each delivery package in each container 112, an optimized location of each container 112 within the rows of the plurality of motorized plates 104 in the vehicle 102, and / or the like. The server 120 may be configured to transmit the above-described information to the inventory unit 114 at a predefined frequency via the network(s) 118.

[0030] In some aspects, the inventory unit 114 may include one or more units, including, but not limited to, a transceiver 122, a memory 124, a processor 126, and a sensor 128. The transceiver 122 may be configured to receive information, data, notifications, signals, etc., from one or more devices or systems external to the inventory unit 114. For example, the transceiver 122 may be configured to receive the information described above from the server 120, information / data from the vehicle 102, and / or the like. The transceiver 122 may further be configured to transmit information, data, notifications, command signals, etc., to one or more devices or systems external to the inventory unit 114, e.g., to the server 120, the conveyor belts 116a-n, and / or the vehicle 102.

[0031] The processor 126 may be arranged in communication with one or more storage devices arranged in communication with the respective computing systems (e.g., the memory 124 and / or one or more external databases located in Fig. 1). Processor 126 may utilize memory 124 to store programs in code and / or to store data for performing aspects of the disclosure. Memory 124 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or memory storing program code or delivery package management instructions. Memory 124 may include any one or a combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), etc.) and any one or more non-volatile memory elements (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), etc.).In some aspects, the memory 124 may additionally be configured to store the information / data received by the transceiver 122 from the server 120 and / or the vehicle 102.

[0032] The sensor 128 may be disposed at one or more locations of a warehouse / facility where the conveyor belts 116a-n may be located. The sensor 128 may include one or more proximity sensors that may be configured to detect the presence of objects (e.g., the vehicle 102, the bin 112, etc.) near the sensor 128. In some aspects, the sensor 128 may be disposed near the conveyor belts 116a-n and may be configured to transmit a first trigger signal when the vehicle 102 may be located near or arriving at the conveyor belts 116a-n. In additional aspects, the sensor 128 may be configured to transmit a second trigger signal when a bin (e.g., the bin 112) may be located on the conveyor belt 116a and located near a motorized platen of the plurality of motorized plates 104.

[0033] The processor 126 may be configured to control activation and movement of each conveyor belt 116a-n based on signals obtained from the sensor 128 and the information / data obtained from the server 120 and / or the vehicle 102, as described below in connection with the Fig. 2-7 described.

[0034] The vehicle 102 and the inventory unit 114 may implement and / or perform operations as described herein in the present disclosure in accordance with the user manual and safety guidelines.

[0035] Fig. 2 illustrates a first exemplary arrangement of components of a warehouse management system in a warehouse 200 according to the present disclosure. During the description of Fig. 2 can be used on the Fig. 3A, Fig. 3B, Fig. 3C and Fig. 3D reference can be made.

[0036] As described above, the warehouse management system can store the inventory unit 114 (in Fig. 2 not shown) and one or more conveyor belts 202a, 202b, 202c, etc. (also referred to herein as lanes 202a, 202b, 202c, etc.). The conveyor belts 202a-c may be the same as the conveyor belts 116a-n. The conveyor belts 202a-c may be configured to transport the containers 112 toward or away from the plurality of motorized plates 104 of a vehicle 204, which may be the same as the vehicle 102. In an exemplary aspect, the conveyor belt 202c may be configured to transport the containers 112 toward the plurality of motorized plates 104 (i.e., toward the vehicle 204), and the conveyor belts 202a, 202b may be configured to transport the containers 112 away from the plurality of motorized plates 104 (i.e., out of the vehicle 204). As shown in Fig. 2, the warehouse 200 may be configured to load / unload the containers 112 onto / from a plurality of vehicles simultaneously using a plurality of "sets" of conveyor belts. In the exemplary aspect shown in Fig. 2, each set of conveyor belts may include three conveyor belts (e.g., conveyor belts 202a-c), and each set may be located near a vehicle (e.g., near a loading and unloading area of ​​each vehicle).

[0037] Although Fig. 2 depicts three conveyor belts near each vehicle (i.e., three conveyor belts in each set of conveyor belts), the present disclosure is not limited to such an arrangement. In some aspects, a set of conveyor belts may include more or fewer than three conveyor belts.

[0038] The warehouse management system may further include one or more container packing stations or areas 206 at which delivery packages may be loaded into each container 112. In some aspects, delivery packages may be autonomously loaded into each container 112 at the container packing station 206 using robots (not shown) based on command signals received from the inventory unit 114. In particular, the processor 126 may use the information obtained from the server 120 (discussed above in connection with Fig. 1) to determine an assignment of each delivery package in each container 112 and may accordingly command the robots to load the delivery packages into the containers 112 based on the assignment.

[0039] The warehouse management system may additionally include a main conveyor 208 that may transport the containers 112 (in which the delivery packages may be loaded) from the container packing station 206 to the vehicle 204 (and other vehicles located in the warehouse 200) and may transport empty containers from the vehicle 204 to the container packing station 206. In particular, when the containers 112 for the vehicle 204 may be loaded with the delivery packages at the container packing station 206, the processor 126 may command a packing station belt 210 to move the containers 112 from the container packing station 206 to the main conveyor 208. In response to the main conveyor 208 picking up the containers 112 from the packing station belt 210, the processor 126 may command the main conveyor 208 to move the containers 112 toward the conveyor 202c, which may transport the containers 112 toward the vehicle 204.In some aspects, the main conveyor 208 may include diverters (not shown) that may be used to redirect the containers 112 to the appropriate destination vehicle (e.g., vehicle 204) or the appropriate conveyor (e.g., conveyor 202c).

[0040] In operation, when the vehicle 204 reaches the warehouse 200 to unload empty containers 302 (as in Fig. 3A) and to load the containers 112 with delivery packages, park near the conveyor belts 202a-c. In particular, the vehicle 204 may be arranged in such a configuration that the loading / unloading area of ​​the vehicle may be adjacent to or in contact with the conveyor belts 202a-c, as shown in Fig. 3A. In the exemplary aspect shown in Fig. 3A, the vehicle 204 may unload or load containers via a rear portion of the vehicle. In other aspects (not shown), the vehicle 204 may unload or load containers via a side portion of the vehicle.

[0041] In response to the vehicle 204 reaching or being in proximity to the conveyor belts 202a-c, as in Fig. 3A, the sensor 128 may detect the presence of the vehicle near the conveyor belts 202a-c and transmit the first trigger signal to the server 120 or directly to the processor 126. The processor 126 may obtain the first trigger signal from the server 120 (or directly from the sensor 128) and may obtain the wheel speed of each wheel 108, 110 of the plurality of motorized plates 104 disposed in the vehicle 204 in response to obtaining the first trigger signal. The processor 126 may obtain the wheel speed from information stored in the memory 124 or the server 120, or may obtain the wheel speed directly from the vehicle 204 (e.g., via the transceiver 122).

[0042] In response to obtaining the wheel speed, the processor 126 may turn on the conveyor belts 202a and 202b. The processor 126 may further transmit a command signal (e.g., a first command signal) to the vehicle 204 via the transceiver 122 to cause the motorized plates 104 included in columns C1 and C2 to turn on and move. The motorized plates 104 included in columns C1 and C2 may be turned on such that the empty containers 302 included in columns C1 and C2 may move toward the conveyor belts 202a and 202b, as shown in Fig. 3B. In particular, the wheels 108 or 110 can be activated to move the empty containers 302 contained in columns C1 and C2 toward the conveyor belts 202a and 202b.

[0043] When the conveyor belts 202a and 202b pick up the empty containers 302 contained in columns C1 and C2 at an intersection (or a "first location") of the conveyor belts 202a, 202b (and 202c) and the motorized plates 104, the conveyor belts 202a and 202b may begin transporting the empty containers 302 toward a second location. In some aspects, the second location may be the container packing station 206, where the empty containers 302 may be stored and reloaded (e.g., for delivery to another vehicle). In other aspects, the second location may be any other location in the warehouse 200 where the empty containers 302 may be stored.

[0044] In some aspects, the processor 126 may enable the conveyor belts 202a and 202b to move at a first speed, which may be based on the wheel speed obtained from the server 120 or the vehicle 204. In an example aspect, the first speed may be greater than or equal to the wheel speed. The processor 126 enables the conveyor belts 202a and 202b to move at a speed greater than or equal to the wheel speed to ensure that the rate at which the empty containers 302 are transported by the conveyor belts 202a and 202b is greater than or equal to the rate at which the empty containers 302 can be picked up by the motorized plates 104 at the intersection or first location. This may ensure that the empty containers 302 do not pile up at the intersection or first location.

[0045] When the empty containers 302 contained in columns C1 and C2 have been completely unloaded or discharged from the vehicle 204, the processor 126 may transmit another command signal (e.g., a second command signal via the transceiver 122) to the vehicle 204 to cause the motorized plates 104 contained in column C3 to be turned on and moved. The motorized plates 104 contained in column C3 may be turned on such that the empty containers 302 contained in column C3 may move toward the motorized plates 104 contained in columns C1 or C2, as shown in Fig. 3C shown.

[0046] In response to the empty containers 302 included in column C3 being moved to the motorized plates 104 included in columns C1 or C2, the empty containers 302 may be unloaded onto the conveyor belts 202a and 202b, as shown in Fig. Shown in 3D.

[0047] In further aspects, in response to all empty containers 302 being unloaded in the vehicle 204, the processor 126 may activate the conveyor belt 202c to cause movement of a container 304 loaded with a delivery package 306 from the second location toward the first location (i.e., the intersection of the conveyor belts 202a, 202b, 202c and the motorized plates 104). In some aspects, the second location may be the container packing station 206, where the container 304 may be loaded with the delivery package 306. The conveyor belt 202c may be configured to move the container 304 from the container packing station 206 toward the first location (e.g., via the main conveyor belt 208 and the packing station belt 210, as described above).

[0048] In response to the container 304 being near the first location, the sensor 128 may detect the presence of the container 304. In this case, the sensor 128 may be located on the conveyor belt 202c near the first location. In response to detecting the presence of a container near the first location, the sensor 128 may transmit a second trigger signal to the server 120 or directly to the processor 126. The processor 126 may obtain the second trigger signal from the server 120 or directly from the sensor 128 and determine the presence of the container near the first location based on the second trigger signal.

[0049] In response to determining the presence of a container near the first location, the processor 126 may transmit a command signal to the vehicle 204 via the transceiver 122 to cause the motorized plates 104 included in column C3 to be turned on. The motorized plates 104 included in column C3 may be turned on so that the motorized plates 104 included in column C3 may pick up the container 304 from the conveyor belt 202c. In response to picking up the container 304, the motorized plates 104 included in column C3 may be configured to move the container 304 to a predetermined location on one of the motorized plates 104 included in columns C1, C2, or C3 based on the command signal obtained from the processor 126.In particular, when the container 304 reaches the first location or when the container 304 is located on the motorized plates 104 included in column C3, the processor 126 may use the information obtained from the server 120 to determine a predefined optimized position of the container 304 within the vehicle interior compartment. In response to determining the predefined optimized position, the processor 126 may transmit a further command signal to the vehicle 204 via the transceiver 122 to cause movement of the motorized plates 104 included in columns C1, C2, and / or C3 to move the container 304 to the predefined optimized position. Similarly, a plurality of containers containing delivery packages may be autonomously loaded into the vehicle 204 using the warehouse management system.In some aspects, in response to the plurality of containers being loaded into the vehicle 204, the processor 126 may transmit the information obtained from the server 120 (particularly the information associated with the containers loaded into the vehicle 204 and the delivery packages stored in each container) to the vehicle 204 for local storage.

[0050] In some aspects, the processor 126 may enable the conveyor belt 202c to cause the container 304 to move at a second speed from the second location toward the first location. The second speed may be based on the wheel speed. In one example aspect, the second speed may be less than or equal to the wheel speed. The processor 126 enables the conveyor belt 202c to move at a speed less than or equal to the wheel speed to ensure that the rate at which the packed containers (e.g., the container 304) are transported to the first location is less than or equal to the rate at which the packed containers can be "picked" by the motorized plates 104 included in column C3. This may ensure that the packed containers do not pile up at the first location.

[0051] Fig. 4 illustrates a second exemplary arrangement of components of a warehouse management system in a warehouse 400 according to the present disclosure. The warehouse 400 may be the same as or similar to the warehouse 200 described above. During the description of Fig. 4 can be used on the Fig. 5A, Fig. 5B, Fig. 5C and Fig. 5D may be referred to.

[0052] The warehouse 400 may include one or more conveyor belts 402a, 402b, 402c, etc., which may be configured to transport the containers 112 toward or away from the plurality of motorized plates 104 of a vehicle 404. The conveyor belts 402a-c may be similar to the conveyor belts 202a-c, and the vehicle 404 may be the same as the vehicle 204. In some aspects, the conveyor belts 402a-c may be bidirectional. In other words, each conveyor belt 402a-c may be configured to transport the containers 112 to and from the vehicle 404. The warehouse 400 may further include one or more container packing stations or areas 406, a main conveyor belt 408, and a packing station belt 409.The container packing station 406 may be the same as the container packing station 206, the main conveyor belt 408 may be the same as the main conveyor belt 208, and the packing station belt 409 may be the same as the packing station belt 210.

[0053] The warehouse 400 may further include one or more loading devices 410. Each loading device 410 may be disposed between the conveyor belts 402a-c and the loading and unloading area of ​​each vehicle 404. In some aspects, the loading device 410 may be part of the conveyor belts 402a-c. In other aspects, the loading device 410 may be separate from the conveyor belts 402a-c. In an example aspect, each loading device 410 may include a plurality of motorized plates (just like the motorized plates 104 described above) that may be configured to move the containers 112 on the loading device 410 in a first direction (e.g., along a length "L" of the loading device toward the vehicle 204) or a second direction (e.g., along a width "W" of the loading device). The dimensions of the loading device (e.g. the length “L” and the width “W”) may depend on the dimensions of the warehouse.

[0054] The warehouse 400 may further include one or more container staging areas 412, which may be located adjacent to the loading devices 410 and near the first location described above. In an exemplary aspect, dimensions of each container staging area 412 may be similar to the dimensions of the loading device. Each container staging area 412 may be configured to hold a plurality of pre-packed containers 502 (as shown in Fig. 5A) in a pre-planned or predetermined arrangement so that the containers 502 can be conveniently loaded onto the vehicle 404. Each container 502 can include one or more delivery packages 504 for the vehicle 404. In some aspects, the containers 502 can be stored in the container staging area 412 before or when the vehicle 404 arrives at the warehouse 400 for loading / unloading to optimize the time required to load the containers 502 onto the vehicle 404. In some aspects, each container staging area 412, similar to the loading devices 410, can also include a plurality of motorized plates that can enable the containers 502 to be moved on the container staging area 412.

[0055] Although the above description describes that the containers 502 may be stored in a predetermined arrangement in the container staging area 412, in some aspects the containers 502 may be sorted or moved using the motorized plates within the container staging area 412 to optimize container storage.

[0056] In operation, when the vehicle 404 arrives at the warehouse 400 to unload the empty containers 302 and load the containers 502, the vehicle 404 may park near the loading device 410, as shown in Fig. 5A. In response to the vehicle 404 being in proximity to the loading device 410, the sensor 128 may detect the presence of the vehicle and transmit the first trigger signal to the processor 126. In response to receiving the first trigger signal, the processor 126 may transmit, via the transceiver 122, a command signal to the loading device 410 to turn on the motorized plates included in the loading device 410 and another command signal to the conveyor belts 402a-c to turn on movement of the conveyor belt. The motorized plates included in the loading device 410 and the conveyor belts 402a-c may be turned on, allowing any container that may be placed on the loading device 410 or the conveyor belts 402a-c to move away from the vehicle 404.The processor 126 may further transmit a command signal to the vehicle 404 via the transceiver 122 to cause the motorized plates 104 to be turned on and moved. The motorized plates 104 may be turned on, allowing the containers 302 to move toward the loading device 410.

[0057] In response to activation of the loading device 410, the conveyor belts 402a-c and the motorized plates 104 as described above, the containers 302 may be unloaded from or discharged from the vehicle 404 as shown in Fig. 5B. In this case, the conveyor belts 402a-c can transport the containers 302 via the main conveyor belt 408 and the packing station belt 409 to the container packing station 406.

[0058] When potentially all containers 302 have been unloaded from the vehicle 404, the processor 126 may transmit another command signal to the loading device 410 and the container staging area 412 via the transceiver 122 to cause motorized plates included in the loading device 410 and the container staging area 412 to be turned on. In some aspects, the motorized plates included in the loading device 410 and the container staging area 412 may be turned on so that the containers 502 can move from the container staging area 412 to the loading device 410, as shown in Fig. 5C. In particular, the motorized plates included in the container staging area 412 can transport the containers 502 toward the motorized plates included in the loading device 410.

[0059] When potentially all of the containers 502 are received by the motorized plates included in the loading device 410, the processor 126 may transmit a further command signal to the loading device 410 via the transceiver 122 to initiate container movement toward the motorized plates 104 (or the first location described above in connection with Fig. 2). In particular, in response to receiving the command signal from the processor 126, the loading device 410 may activate the movement of the motorized plates included in the loading device 410 so that the containers 502 can move toward the vehicle 404, as shown in Fig. 5D shown.

[0060] In this way, by pre-storing the packed containers 502 in the container staging area 412, the warehouse management system enables rapid loading of containers into the vehicle 404.

[0061] The Fig. 6A, Fig. 6B, Fig. 6C and Fig. 6D illustrate exemplary stages in loading and unloading containers into / from a delivery vehicle 602 according to the present disclosure. Fig. 6A-6D specifically illustrate an exemplary scenario for loading and unloading containers when the warehouse 400 may not include the loading device 410 and / or the container staging area 412.

[0062] In the exemplary aspect that Fig. 6A, when the vehicle 602 arrives at the warehouse (e.g., the warehouse 400) to unload the empty containers 302 and load the containers 502, the vehicle 602 may park near the conveyor belts 604a-c. The conveyor belts 604a-c may be the same as the conveyor belts 202a-c. In some aspects, the conveyor belt 604c may be configured to transport the containers 502 toward the vehicle 602. Further, the conveyor belt 604c may pre-store the containers 502 before or when the vehicle 602 arrives at the warehouse 400.

[0063] In response to the vehicle 602 arriving near the conveyor belts 604a, the sensor 128 may detect the presence of the vehicle and transmit the first trigger signal to the processor 126. In response to receiving the first trigger signal, the processor 126 may transmit a command signal to the conveyor belts 604a, 604b via the transceiver 122 to activate movement of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belts 604a, 604b may be activated so that any container that may be placed on the conveyor belts 604a, 604b may move away from the vehicle 602. The processor 126 may further transmit another command signal to the vehicle 602 via the transceiver 122 to activate the motorized plates 104 included in columns C1 and C2.The motorized plates 104 included in columns C1 and C2 can be switched on so that the containers 302 can move toward the conveyor belts 604a, 604b.

[0064] In response to switching on the conveyor belts 604a, 604b and the motorized plates 104 included in the columns C1 and C2, the containers 302 may move away from the vehicle 404 on the conveyor belts 604a, 604b, as shown in Fig. 6B. When the containers 302 located in columns C1 and C2 have been completely unloaded or discharged from the vehicle 602, the processor 126 may transmit a command signal via the transceiver 122 to the vehicle 602 to cause the motorized plates 104 located in column C3 to be turned on. The motorized plates 104 located in column C3 may be turned on so that the containers 302 located in column C3 may move toward column C1 or C2, as shown in Fig. 6C. If the containers 302 are possibly arranged on the column C1 or C2, the processor 126 can cause the motorized plates 104 included in the column C1 or C2 to move the containers 302 away from the vehicle 602 toward the conveyor belts 604a, 604b, as shown in Fig. 6D. Additionally, the processor 126 may transmit a command signal to the conveyor belt 604c via the transceiver 122 to turn it on. In response to being turned on, the conveyor belt 604c may move the containers 502 toward the vehicle 602. The motorized plates 104 included in columns C1, C2, and C3 may move the containers 502 to respective predetermined optimal positions within the vehicle interior compartment, as described above.

[0065] A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the Fig. 6A-6D enables rapid loading of a container into the vehicle 602 without the need for the loading device 410 and / or the container staging area 412.

[0066] Fig. 7 illustrates a third exemplary arrangement of components of a warehouse management system in a warehouse 700 according to the present disclosure. The warehouse 700 may be similar to warehouse 200 or 400.

[0067] The warehouse 700 may include one or more conveyor belts 702a, 702b, 702c, etc., which may be configured to transport the containers 112 toward or away from the plurality of motorized plates 104 of a vehicle 704. The conveyor belts 702a-c may be the same as the conveyor belts 402a-c, and the vehicle 704 may be the same as the vehicle 404. The warehouse 700 may further include one or more container packing stations or areas 706, a main conveyor belt 708, a packing station belt 709, loading devices 710, and container staging areas 712.The container packing station 706 may be the same as the container packing station 406, the main conveyor belt 708 may be the same as the main conveyor belt 408, the packing station belts 709 may be the same as the packing station belts 409, the loading devices 710 may be the same as the loading devices 410, and the container staging areas 712 may be the same as the container staging areas 412. In some aspects, a number of loading devices 710 and container staging areas 712 included in the warehouse 700 may be fewer than a number of loading devices 410 and container staging areas 412 included in the warehouse 400.

[0068] In some aspects, the warehouse 700 may further include one or more buffers 714 that may be configured to pre-store the containers to be loaded onto the vehicle 704 (and other vehicles in the warehouse 700) before or when the vehicle 704 arrives at the warehouse 700. Each buffer 714 may include a plurality of motorized plates that may enable the buffer 714 to move the containers (e.g., the containers 112) stored on the buffer 714 based on command signals received from the processor 126.In operation, when the vehicle 704 arrives at the warehouse 700, the processor 126 may transmit a command signal to the buffer 714 (and the main conveyor 708, the conveyors 702a-c, the loader 710, and the container staging area 712) via the transceiver 122 to effect container movement from the buffer 714 to the container staging area 712. When the vehicle 704 approaches the loading device 710, the containers 112 stored in the container staging area 712 may be loaded into the vehicle 704 via the loading device 710, as described above in connection with FIG. Fig. 4 and the Fig. 5A-5D shown.

[0069] In some aspects, the processor 126 may cause the buffer 714 to send another set of containers to the container staging area 712 / loading device 710 for another vehicle that is queued to load at the container staging area 712 / loading device 710 when the processor 126 determines that the loading device 710 may have loaded the containers 112 into the vehicle 704.

[0070] By pre-storing the containers 112 in the buffer before the vehicle 704 arrives at the loading device 710, the warehouse management system enables fast and seamless loading and unloading of containers into / from the vehicle 704.

[0071] Fig. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method 800 for facilitating loading and unloading of containers in accordance with the present disclosure. Fig.8 may be described with continued reference to previous figures. The following process is exemplary and not limited to the steps described below. Moreover, alternative embodiments may include more or fewer steps than illustrated or described herein, and may include these steps in an order that differs from the order described in the following embodiments.

[0072] The method 800 begins at step 802. At step 804, the method 800 may include obtaining, by the processor 126, the first trigger signal from the server 120 or the sensor 128. As described above, the processor 126 obtains the first trigger signal when the vehicle 204 may be in proximity to the conveyor belts 202a-c. At step 806, the method 800 may include obtaining, by the processor 126, the wheel speed of each wheel 108, 110 of the plurality of motorized disks 104 disposed in the vehicle 204 in response to obtaining the first trigger signal. In some aspects, the processor 126 may obtain the wheel speed from the server 120 or the vehicle 204.

[0073] At step 808, method 800 may include turning on, by the processor 126, the conveyor belt 202c to load the container 304 into the vehicle 204. As described above, the processor 126 may turn on the conveyor belt 202c at the second speed, which may be less than or equal to the wheel speed.

[0074] The method 800 ends at step 810.

[0075] In the foregoing disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and illustrate specific implementations in which the present disclosure may be practiced. It is understood that other implementations may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes that specific feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, such phrases are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Furthermore, if a feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with one embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize such a feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0076] Furthermore, the functions described in this document may be performed in one or more of hardware, software, firmware, digital components, or analog components, as appropriate. For example, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) may be programmed to perform one or more of the systems and procedures described in this document. Certain terms used throughout the specification and claims refer to specific system components. As one skilled in the art will recognize, components may be referred to by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not in function.

[0077] It is also understood that the word "example," as used in this document, is intended to be non-exclusive and non-limiting. In particular, the word "example," as used in this document, indicates one of several examples, and it is understood that no undue emphasis or preference is placed on the specific example described.

[0078] A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readable medium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., physical) medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that can be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-transitory media and volatile media. Computing devices may include computer-executable instructions, where the instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices, such as those listed above, and may be stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0079] With respect to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described in this specification, it is to be understood that although the steps of such processes, etc., have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be implemented in practice such that the described steps are performed in an order that differs from the order described in this specification. Further, it is to be understood that certain steps could be performed concurrently, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described in this specification could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes in this specification are for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments and should in no way be construed to limit the claims.

[0080] Accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments and applications other than the examples listed will become apparent from a reading of the foregoing description. The scope should be determined not by reference to the foregoing description, but instead by reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that there will be future developments in the art discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. Overall, it is understood that the application is susceptible of modification and variation.

[0081] All terms used in the claims are intended to have their general meaning as known to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the technologies described in this specification apply, unless expressly stated otherwise herein. In particular, the use of the singular articles, such as "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," etc., is intended to refer to one or more of the specified elements, unless a claim expressly limits otherwise.Conditional language, such as "may," "could," "may," or "may possibly," is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments may include certain features, elements, and / or steps, while other embodiments may not include them, unless specifically stated otherwise or clear from the particular context used. Thus, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that features, elements, and / or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments.

[0082] In one aspect of the invention, the first speed is less than or equal to the wheel speed.

[0083] In one aspect of the invention, the first container is configured to store a delivery package, and wherein the first location is a container packing area where the delivery package is placed in the first container.

[0084] In one aspect of the invention, the method includes engaging a second conveyor track in response to acquiring the wheel speed, wherein the second conveyor track is configured to move a second container from the second location to the first location at a second speed, and wherein the second speed is greater than or equal to the wheel speed.

[0085] In one aspect of the invention, obtaining the trigger signal comprises obtaining the trigger signal when the vehicle is located near the first conveyor belt track.

[0086] According to the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: obtain a trigger signal; obtain a wheel speed associated with a first motorized plate disposed in an interior portion of a vehicle, wherein: the first motorized plate is configured to receive a first container from a first conveyor belt track and move the first container to a predefined position in the interior portion, the first conveyor belt track is configured to move the first container from a first location to a second location, and the second location is proximate the first motorized plate;and activating the first conveyor belt track to cause movement of the first container at a first speed from the first location to the second location in response to acquiring the wheel speed, the first speed being based on the wheel speed;

Claims

[1] System comprising: a first conveyor belt track configured to move a first container from a first location to a second location, the second location being proximate a first motorized plate disposed in an interior portion of a vehicle, and the first motorized plate configured to pick up the first container from the first conveyor belt track and move the first container to a predefined position in the interior portion; a transceiver configured to receive a wheel speed associated with the first motorized plate; and a processor communicatively coupled to the first conveyor belt track and the transceiver, the processor configured to: Obtaining a trigger signal; Obtaining the wheel speed from the transceiver in response to obtaining the trigger signal; and Activating the first conveyor belt track to cause movement of the first container at a first speed from the first location to the second location in response to acquiring the wheel speed, the first speed being based on the wheel speed. [2] The system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver receives the wheel speed from the vehicle or a server. [3] The system of claim 1, wherein the first speed is less than or equal to the wheel speed. [4] The system of claim 1, wherein the first container is configured to store a delivery package, and wherein the first location is a container packing area where the delivery package is placed in the first container. [5] The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to: Obtaining information associated with the first container and the delivery package from a server; and Transferring the information to the vehicle. [6] The system of claim 1, further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of a first container in proximity to the second location. [7] The system of claim 6, wherein the sensor is disposed on the first conveyor belt track proximate the second location. [8] The system of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to: Obtaining inputs from the sensor; Determining the presence of the first container near the second location based on the inputs; and Transmitting a command signal to the vehicle to cause the first motorized plate to be turned on in response to determining the presence of the first container. [9] The system of claim 1, further comprising a second conveyor belt track configured to move a second container from the second location to the first location at a second speed, the second speed being greater than or equal to the wheel speed. [10] The system of claim 1, wherein the first location is a container staging area configured to store the first container to be loaded into the vehicle, and wherein the container staging area includes a second motorized platen. [11] The system of claim 10, wherein the container staging area is located near the second location. [12] The system of claim 10, wherein the first conveyor track includes a third motorized platen. [13] The system of claim 12, wherein the second motorized platen is configured to transport the first container from the container staging area to the third motorized platen, and wherein the third motorized platen is configured to receive the first container from the second motorized platen and transport the first container to the second location. [14] The system of claim 1, wherein the processor obtains the trigger signal when the vehicle is located near the first conveyor belt track. [15] A method for facilitating loading and unloading of containers, the method comprising: Obtaining, by a processor, a trigger signal; Obtaining, by the processor, a wheel speed associated with a first motorized plate disposed in an interior portion of a vehicle, wherein: the first motorized plate is configured to pick up a first container from a first conveyor belt track and move the first container to a predefined position in the interior section, the first conveyor belt track is configured to move the first container from a first location to a second location, and the second location is near the first motorized plate; and Activating, by the processor, the first conveyor belt track to cause movement of the first container at a first speed from the first location to the second location in response to acquiring the wheel speed, the first speed being based on the wheel speed.

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