System for preparing orders for products stored in a multi-level warehouse and picked by a plurality of autonomous mobile robots
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023748089
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-08-09
- Filing Date
- 2023-08-03
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-18
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
SYSTEM FOR PREPARING ORDERS FOR PRODUCTS STORED IN A MULTI-LEVEL WAREHOUSE AND PICKED BY A PLURALITY OF AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOTS Field of invention
[0001] The field of the invention is that of logistics, and in particular that of order preparation systems within a logistics warehouse for products to be shipped.
[0002] The present invention relates in particular to assistance in the preparation of orders by means of autonomous robots (known as “Autonomous Mobile robots – AMR” in English). Prior art
[0003] Automated order preparation systems are particularly used in companies selling small-volume products remotely (tools, spare parts, electronic products, etc.).
[0004] These systems make it possible to prepare, with minimal labor, in a short time and with precise stock monitoring, a package corresponding to a specific order from a customer, said order relating to one or more products in different quantities.
[0005] These systems generally consist of: a storage warehouse comprising shelves separated by circulation aisles with a plurality of stacked storage levels containing the products (items) that can be picked or placed; at least one order preparation station, where the products are picked and placed
[0006] by an operator (or a robot) in a shipping package or on a support (a pallet for example); means of transporting products stored in the storage warehouse to the order preparation station, and vice versa; and a control system (or central management).
[0007] The logistics field has been constantly evolving for many years. Thus, motorized mobile robots, known as autonomous robots, are now commonly used as carriers in these order preparation systems. These robots can cooperate with operators in the same workspace to optimally prepare the various orders received by the warehouse's order management system. These robots reduce the arduousness of operators' work by carrying loads for them. Since robots are capable of carrying heavier and / or more cumbersome loads than humans, they reduce the distances that operators have to travel. Robots allow operators to perform value-added tasks by freeing up their hands, for example, handling a tablet to interact with an order management and inventory management system.
[0008] We thus know several sampling techniques (called "Picking" in English) involving the cooperation of sampling operators and robots.
[0009] According to a first, relatively simple approach, an operator is responsible for picking the different products of an order from the different locations in the warehouse and placing them on the autonomous robot that accompanies him. A major drawback of this first approach is that the travel times of the robot and the operator are relatively long, which results in a very low efficiency of the operator and the robot respectively. Indeed, the efficiency can be determined according to the hourly picking rate, i.e. the number of picks per hour.
[0010] In a second approach, the warehouse is divided into several regions and a picking operator is assigned to each of these regions. Thus, for each order, the autonomous robot travels through the different regions of the warehouse to collect the products manually picked by the operators. Although this approach increases the efficiency of the picking operators by reducing the distance they have to travel between two picks, the paths of the picking robots are relatively long and do not provide a satisfactory solution.
[0011] Furthermore, a recurring logistics problem is that the warehouse where the product storage is located can become too small, particularly due to increased sales and / or the listing of new products. To overcome this problem, it is common to increase the surface area of warehouses to expand the storage area for the products to be picked. However, overly large storage areas increase the distances to be covered between two pickings.
[0012] In addition, the high demand for storage space in recent years has led to a rise in land prices. To overcome this drawback, the current trend is to increase the height of warehouses and, therefore, storage shelves.
[0013] To pick products from these high shelves, robots have been developed that can move along the shelves to pick a product from a height and from the floor and then transport it to a specific order preparation station. The large number of robots required to implement this solution (each robot picking and transporting a single product) creates problems with the movement of robots on the floor, since they intersect to each go to a specific order preparation station.
[0014] Alternatively, robots have been developed that move only on the ground and are equipped with a mast for picking up a product from a shelf, the mast being between 8 and 12 m high. Such a mast height does not allow the robot to move quickly.
[0015] None of the known solutions of the prior art therefore allows us to respond in a fully satisfactory manner to the increasingly high rates which are required today, while taking into account the surface area constraints of the warehouses.
[0016] There is therefore a need to provide a new approach that can adapt to these different constraints while optimizing the overall efficiency of the system, i.e. the efficiency of operators and robots.
[0017] The present technique meets this need by proposing a system for preparing orders for products stored in a logistics warehouse comprising: a product storage warehouse comprising several floors, each floor having at least one shelf presenting several levels subdivided into storage locations;a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, called collection robots, capable of moving in at least one circulation zone of each floor of the storage warehouse, said collection robots ensuring the collection of products inside the storage locations of a given level of a shelf, each collection robot comprising means for moving on the ground, means for collecting products inside the storage locations and means for storing the collected products on several superimposed storage supports of the collection robot, each collection robot further comprising a vertical mast on one side of which the superimposed storage supports are mounted, the collection means and the storage means being mounted on the other side of the mast, and the storage means being capable of storing a product collected on one of the storage supports of the collection robot during the movement of the robot on the ground;at least one elevator capable of moving at least one of said collection robots from one floor of the storage warehouse to another; at least one order preparation area remote from the storage warehouse to which said collection robots bring picked products, said order preparation area comprising at least one order preparation station from the products brought by said collection robots.;
[0018] Thus, the present technique proposes a new and inventive solution for order preparation implemented by picking operators and by a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a warehouse storing products to be shipped, making it possible to significantly increase the productivity of order preparation without requiring too much floor space.
[0019] To achieve this, on the one hand, the storage warehouse has several stacked storage floors that can reach 40 to 45m high, for example, which makes it possible to multiply the available storage area, and on the other hand, the picking of products on each of the store's floors is carried out by collection robots equipped with mobile picking means at height to pick products from the different levels of the shelves. These collection robots can move from one floor to another of the storage warehouse by means of elevators to pick several products and store them until they are brought to an order preparation area.
[0020] Rather than increasing the height of the product storage shelves, which would require the picking robots to be able to pick products from very great heights, it is proposed to stack floors vertically (4, 8 or 12 floors for example) in the warehouse, each floor having at least one circulation area for at least one picking robot and at least one shelf with several levels subdivided into storage locations.
[0021] Because the warehouse has several floors, the picking mast of the mobile collection robots remains at a reasonable height, which ensures good stability and speed of movement of the robots on the floor. The robots can move to each floor of the warehouse in complete autonomy, which does not require the installation of expensive and inflexible rails or guide strips on the floor or shelves of each floor.
[0022] Such a multi-level warehouse allows for the multiplication of storage space in a single warehouse, which saves space (and solves the problem of land costs), and allows for the centralization of logistics activity in a single site rather than in several distant locations. Therefore, this warehouse configuration can be close to cities and the end consumer.
[0023] This solution also improves order preparation efficiency, particularly by reducing the travel of operators and autonomous mobile robots, as well as by optimizing each stage of the logistics chain.
[0024] Furthermore, the picking robots of the system of the invention are designed to be able to store a picked product on one of their storage supports even during their movements, for example to an order preparation area. This feature is particularly innovative, because conventional robots, when loaded with products that they have picked from a shelf in a warehouse, are not very stable when they are in motion and the picked products can very easily tip over and fall to the ground during their movement.
[0025] According to a particular aspect of the invention, the height of the mast is less than or equal to 4m.
[0026] According to a particular aspect of the invention, each order preparation station is associated with a
[0027] exchanger capable of cooperating with a collection robot and comprising first transfer means
[0028] products stored on the storage supports of said collection robot to a first module
[0029] exchanger buffer then to the order preparation station.
[0030] According to a particular aspect of the invention, the first buffer module comprises means
[0031] scheduling of transferred products before their transfer to the preparation station
[0032] order.
[0033] According to a particular aspect of the invention, said exchanger comprises second means of
[0034] transfer of products from the order preparation station to a second module
[0035] buffer then to the storage media of said collection robot.
[0036] According to a particular aspect of the invention, the height of the storage magazine is between 40 and
[0037] 80m.
[0038] The invention relates to a collection robot for implementation in a system as described
[0039] previously. List of Figures
[0040] The proposed technique, as well as the various advantages it presents, will be more easily understood, in the light of the following description of an illustrative and non-limiting embodiment thereof, and the appended drawings among which:
[0041] illustrates a warehouse for storing products to be shipped from an order preparation system according to the invention, comprising a multi-story product storage store, an order preparation area and a plurality of mobile robots for collecting products stored in the storage store;
[0042] is a detail view of the storage warehouse of the warehouse showing in particular a lift for moving a collection robot from one floor to another of the storage warehouse;
[0043] shows an island of an order preparation area of an order preparation system according to the invention, in which a collection robot cooperates with an exchanger of an order preparation station. Detailed description of the invention
[0044] The present technique proposes a new and inventive solution for order preparation implemented by operators and by a fleet of autonomous mobile robots in a warehouse storing products to be shipped, making it possible to significantly increase the productivity of order preparation without requiring too much floor space.
[0045] The storage warehouse 1 comprises a storage store, or storage area, 2 which comprises, in the configuration illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, four storage levels 21, each storage level 21 comprising a floor on which several circulation aisles 22 are defined, serving on either side a storage shelf 23 (or racking) with several levels of superimposed storage, each storage shelf 23 being subdivided along its length into storage locations (not visible in the figures) each intended to accommodate a container 25 of products (a container may be a bin with several products or articles inside or a package comprising a single product or article).
[0046] Storage warehouse 2 here covers several dozen square meters and has a height of 45m.
[0047] The number of floors and the height of the storage warehouse can be greater than in the example described here.
[0048] Each circulation aisle 22 of a floor is dimensioned to allow the movement of motorized mobile units in the form of collection robots 4 which ensure the movement of the product containers 25, for their placement inside the storage locations and for their removal from these storage locations. The mobile robots 4 can not only move horizontally on a given storage floor 21, but also be brought from one storage floor 21 to another, whether or not they are transporting products, by elevators 5 (also called elevators / descenders). As illustrated in the example of implementation of the, an elevator 5 is installed on each side of the storage store 2.
[0049] The number of elevators is not limited to the example described here, however.
[0050] In this multi-level storage warehouse 1, in addition to the ground floor, several mezzanines are therefore planned, installed at height and resting on the warehouse slab, each mezzanine forming a floor of storage warehouse 2.
[0051] The system also comprises, on the ground floor of the storage warehouse 1, an order reconstitution or preparation area 3 which makes it possible to reconstitute the orders from the products collected / picked by one or more collection robots. Once all the products have been collected by a collection robot 4, the latter moves towards the order reconstitution area 3 in order to deposit the products picked in the storage warehouse 2.
[0052] This order reconstitution zone 3 here comprises several islands, each comprising an exchanger and an order preparation station by an operator.
[0053] Stairs allow operators to move from the order replenishment or preparation area 3 to each of the storage floors 21. An operator can thus come and collect a bin or parcel from a shelf on one of the storage floors 21. Each of the autonomous mobile robots, called collection robots, 4 of the order preparation system for products stored in the warehouse 1 is equipped with a chassis 41 extending horizontally and on which is mounted a central vertical mast 42 provided on one side with several superimposed storage supports 43 (nine storage supports in this example) to receive the product containers 25, and to allow the preparation of different orders (which increases the order preparation efficiency).The central mast 42 is provided on the other side with a mobile picking platform or trolley 44 capable of moving vertically along the central mast 42 and which ensures the movement of the product containers 25, for their placement inside the storage locations and for their picking from these storage locations.
[0054] The collection robot 4 further comprises means for transferring a container 25 collected by the collection platform 44 to one of the storage supports 43 of said robot (and conversely, a container 25 placed on a storage support 43 of the robot to the collection platform 44 so that the latter (re)places said container 25 inside a storage location).
[0055] The central mast 42 with a maximum height of 4m makes it possible to carry several containers (nine in this example) onto the storage supports instead of just one as in the prior art. The speed of movement of each collection robot 4 equipped with such a central mast 42 is also greater than that of the robots of the prior art equipped with masts of greater height (8 to 12m).
[0056] Advantageously, the transfer means of a collection robot 4 are capable of storing a container collected by the collection platform 44 on one of the storage supports of the collection robot 4 (or vice versa) during the movement of the collection robot 4 on the ground, which saves time.
[0057] The collection robot 4 further comprises an electric drive system using battery(ies) driving in rotation wheels (four in number for example) located under the chassis 41 which make it possible to stabilize and move the robot. The mobile loading platform 44 can be moved vertically and has for this axis of movement an electric drive which can be supplied with electrical energy coming from said at least one storage battery. The height position of the mobile loading platform 44 can thus be modified between a low position, a high position, and one or more intermediate positions.
[0058] Furthermore, the collection robot is equipped in the example described with a reading module (scan) capable of reading a bar code affixed to each of the containers 25 of products in the storage warehouse 2 and constituting an identifier of an article or product of a given order to be prepared.
[0059] The 4 picking robots intervene in the order preparation process by operating completely autonomously between various areas of the multi-level storage warehouse 1 and taking charge of the preparation of an order (or several) by following an optimized route.
[0060] To do this, one or more autonomous robots (five for example) can be assigned to each storage level 21 of the storage warehouse 2.
[0061] Once a set of containers (packages and / or product bases) has been collected by a collection robot 4, the latter heads towards the order reconstitution zone 3 in order to deposit the containers taken from the storage warehouse 2.
[0062] Lamontre an island 31 of the order reconstitution or preparation zone 3 which allows orders to be reconstituted from the containers 25 collected / picked by one or more collection robots.
[0063] This island 31 comprises an order preparation station 32 which is associated with an exchanger 33 capable of cooperating with a collection robot 4. The collection robot 4 having taken a set of product containers 25 is housed in a central compartment of the exchanger 33, the latter comprising first means for transferring the containers 25 stored on the storage supports 43 of the collection robot 4 to a first buffer module 331 of the exchanger 33, means for ordering these containers and for depositing these containers on an upper conveyor 34 at the level of the order preparation station 32. If the container is a package of an order to be prepared, an operator moves the latter from the upper conveyor 34 to a lower conveyor 35.If it is a product bin, it picks up one or more products from an order to be prepared in the bin and places them on a lower conveyor 35, the bin remaining on the upper conveyor 34 to be directed to a second buffer module 332 of the exchanger 33. The exchanger 33 comprises second means for transferring product bins coming from the upper conveyor 34 to the second buffer module 332, then to the empty storage supports of the collection robot 4 located in the exchanger 33.
[0064] Thus, a collection robot 4 brings several bins of products and / or packages (called containers) to an exchanger 33 which will automatically pick up the bins and / or packages and then organize them optimally for operator picking and finally dispatch of the order.
[0065] In the example described, several robots (five for example) work simultaneously to supply an exchanger, and therefore an operator.
[0066] The buffer modules 331, 332 of an exchanger 33 are in the form of columns between which a collection robot loaded with several bins and / or packages can be placed. The exchanger, by means of a gripping device (called a comb), moves the robot's containers (nine in the illustrated example) laterally into the first buffer module 331 in which an ordering of the containers is implemented. The containers are then distributed onto the upper conveyor 34 so that an operator takes a product from each container which he then places in a customer package located below on a lower conveyor 35. The bins are then directed by the upper conveyor 34 to the second buffer module 332 where they are received and then transferred to the collection robot, to be transported and placed by the latter on the shelves of the storage warehouse.
[0067] The proposed technique further provides for generating and transmitting movement orders (or tasks) to each of the collection robots so that the latter collect each of the products from at least one part of at least one order.
[0068] Once the products have been collected by the various robots, the orders are then reconstituted in order to be shipped on time.
[0069] A central management system generates and transmits movement orders (or tasks) to each of the autonomous mobile collection robots so that the latter collect on one or more storage levels 21 each of the products of at least part of at least one order.
[0070] Once the products have been collected by the various collection robots, the orders are then reconstituted in order to be dispatched on time.
[0071] By deploying the storage warehouse 2 vertically, rather than horizontally, and by having autonomous mobile picking robots circulate within it, the movements of the autonomous mobile picking robots within the warehouse storing products to be shipped are optimized in order to maximize their use / efficiency. By improving the efficiency of the operators and robots, a greater number of orders can be completed per unit of time (per hour for example).
[0072] The proposed technique makes it possible to optimize the number of operators in the warehouse, the distance between two pickings, the daily weight per operator, the overall travel time of a fleet of robots and even the electrical energy used by the fleet of robots.
[0073] Mobile autonomous robots are suitable for preparing orders for products stored in the warehouse, that is to say they have specific characteristics such as, in particular: communication capabilities with other robots in the same fleet and with a supervision system responsible for managing a fleet of robots, with the aim of optimizing order preparation in the warehouse; ease of movement in the warehouse aisles, in which other robots circulate; energy autonomy to be able to prepare the greatest number of orders without having to be recharged; compactness and in particular a low thickness, for example to be able to slide under items to be transported.
[0074] Each robot includes at least one camera and / or radar and / or lidar type sensors
[0075] allowing autonomous movement of the robot, i.e. without an external guidance device.
[0076] The central warehouse management system (WMS), internal and specific to the warehouse in which the proposed technical solution is implemented, provides a certain amount of data to the management system of the fleet of autonomous mobile robots for order picking. This warehouse management system (WMS) is known and widely used. It will therefore not be described further in this document.
[0077] The autonomous mobile robot fleet management system comprises different modules, namely: a picking manager capable of receiving data from a warehouse management system and generating and transmitting warehouse management data; an order manager capable of receiving at least the warehouse management data from the picking manager and delivering order scheduling data; a fleet manager capable of receiving order scheduling data from the order manager and communicating movement orders to the plurality of picking robots.
[0078] Additionally, each robot in the robot fleet includes a task manager.
[0079] The management system corresponds to one or more physical servers on site (in the warehouse or a dedicated space close to the warehouse), remote (at a server host for example) or dematerialized (on the "cloud").
[0080] This robot fleet management system is also well-known and widely used, so it will not be described further in this document.
[0081] The robots are equipped with two-way communication means to coordinate their respective movements and to know the progress of order preparation on one or more other robots respectively. Indeed, the efficiency linked to the presence of several robots for a picking operator must not be limited by problems of robot movement (collisions in particular). The robot includes one or more batteries to power the electric motors as well as electronic systems to control these motors.
[0082] Finally, in order to overcome any inaccuracies in the information communicated between the robots, particularly concerning their respective locations or speeds, shape recognition methods are implemented in the robots. In this way, the respective positioning of the robots is more precise and helps to avoid collisions.
[0083] The method for preparing orders for products stored in the storage warehouse comprises the following steps: picking, by a collection robot, a container 25 of products from a storage shelf 23 and transferring the container to a storage support of the robot; moving the collection robot to an order reconstitution and / or shipping area; transferring the containers from the storage supports of the robot to a picking station; picking, by an operator, at least one product from at least one order in said container 25 to reconstitute and ship an order; transferring the containers, if they are not empty, from the picking station to the storage supports of the robot; moving the robot to the storage shelves to replace the non-empty containers.
Claims
System for preparing orders for products stored in a logistics warehouse (1) comprising: a storage warehouse (2) for the products comprising several floors (21), each floor (21) having at least one shelf (23) having several levels subdivided into storage locations; a plurality of autonomous mobile robots, called collection robots (4), capable of moving in at least one circulation zone of each floor (21) of the storage warehouse (2), said collection robots (4) ensuring the removal of products from inside the storage locations of a given level of a shelf (23), each collection robot (4) comprising means for moving on the ground, means for removing (44) products from inside the storage locations and means for storing the removed products on several storage supports (43) superimposed on said collection robot (4),each collection robot (4) further comprising a vertical mast (42) on one side of which the superimposed storage supports (43) are mounted, the picking means (44) and the storage means being mounted on the other side of said mast (42), and said storage means being capable of storing a product picked on one of said storage supports (43) during the movement of said collection robot (4) on the ground; at least one elevator (5) capable of moving at least one of said collection robots (4) from one floor (21) of the storage warehouse (2) to another; at least one order preparation area remote from the storage warehouse (2) to which said collection robots (4) bring picked products, said order preparation area comprising at least one order preparation station (32) from the products brought by said collection robots (4)., System according to claim 1, characterized in that the height of the mast (42) is less than or equal to 4m. System according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each order preparation station is associated with an exchanger (33) capable of cooperating with a collection robot (4) and comprising first means for transferring the products stored on the storage supports (43) of said collection robot (4) to a first buffer module (331) of the exchanger (33) then to the order preparation station. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the first buffer module (331) comprises means for ordering the transferred products before their transfer to the order preparation station (32). System according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said exchanger (33) comprises second means for transferring products from the order preparation station (32) to a second buffer module (332) then to the storage supports of said collection robot (4). System according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the height of the storage warehouse (2) is between 40 and 80m. Collection robot (4) as defined according to claims 1 or 2, intended to be implemented in a system according to one of claims 1 to 6.