ORDER PREPARATION PROCESS

Abstract

A method for preparing an order, implemented using a first and a second set of self-guided trolleys (17,18), comprises: - a first step of transporting a collection container (24) to a first predetermined parking location (25) facing the position of an operator or a robotic arm (26) at the order preparation station; a step of transporting at least one storage container containing an item of said order to a second predetermined parking location (23) adjacent to said first location; a step of picking at least one item of said order from a storage container directly above said second location (23) and placing said item in said collection container directly above said first location; a second step of transporting said collection container in which the item(s) of said order have been placed to the temporary storage area.Figure from the summary: Figure 2.

Description

Title of the invention: METHOD FOR PREPARING ORDERS Technical field

[0001] The field of the invention is that of warehouse or store logistics and in particular the automation of the logistics chain.

[0002] More specifically, the invention relates to a method for preparing at least part of an order.

[0003] The invention finds application in particular in the automation of flow management within a store and / or a storage warehouse, for example in an order preparation warehouse of a logistics chain, in the automation of the sorting of articles in a store or warehouse, or even in the automation of an order delivery service at a collection point, commonly called "drive". Prior art

[0004] In the global supply chain, the management of flows and the handling of products within a warehouse or store play a decisive role.

[0005] Traditionally, an order picker moves around a warehouse to collect each product in an order from its location on a shelf in a rack.

[0006] It is noted that such an organization implies that the preparer travels long distances during a working day, which causes fatigue and loss of time when the journey is not optimized.

[0007] Another disadvantage is that the preparer must know the layout of the warehouse perfectly in order not to waste time.

[0008] To limit fatigue due to travel, improve picking management, and reduce order preparation time, we have devised a warehouse organization in "Goods to man" mode (in which the products are brought by mechanized means to the order preparers).

[0009] It is thus known to implement conveyors to transport products from a storage area of ​​a warehouse to an order preparation station and to transport products from the order preparation station to a shipping station.

[0010] This known technique, however, has the disadvantages of being complex and expensive to implement and requires the design of large warehouses, due to the bulkiness of the conveyors themselves.

[0011] Furthermore, as soon as items from an order are loaded onto a conveyor, it is no longer possible to replace them with items from another order that has become a priority, which does not allow the order of preparation of the orders to be modified at short notice.

[0012] In order to overcome these drawbacks, it has been proposed to implement mobile robots, and in particular robots of the automated guided vehicle (AGV) type, to pick products from the shelves and transport them to an order preparation station. It has also been considered to transport products from an order grouped at an order preparation station to an order dispatch station using robots.

[0013] A disadvantage of known mobile robot techniques for transporting products to or from an order preparation station is that the operations of transferring products from the robots arriving at an order station to the robots intended to transport the products of an order to a shipping station require large amplitude movements, which constitutes a waste of time, and are difficult for an operator, which can lead to products falling, or shocks, and makes the work of an order preparer difficult, or even likely to affect his health.

[0014] Furthermore, and generally speaking, the management of the fleet of robots within a warehouse or storage workshop is a complex operation, the efficiency of which is constantly being improved in terms of flexibility of flows, simplicity of operations, and speed of product transfers to constitute orders and route them to a shipping station. There is therefore a need for solutions that meet these requirements. Objectives of the invention

[0015] The invention therefore aims in particular to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art cited above.

[0016] More specifically, the invention aims to provide an order preparation technique which makes it possible to reduce order preparation times.

[0017] Another objective of the invention is to significantly improve the management of the fleet of robots in a store or in a storage workshop, in terms of optimizing flows and speed of product transfers and order creation.

[0018] In particular, in a particular embodiment of the invention, an objective of the invention is to allow temporary storage of a portion of the items in an order being prepared, for example while awaiting restocking of an item. ordered but missing from the warehouse or store, or when it is necessary to delay shipment of the order.

[0019] An objective of the invention is also to reduce the risks of musculoskeletal disorders occurring for operators working at an order preparation station.

[0020] The invention also aims to limit the risks of deterioration of products at an order preparation station resulting from a fall or impact with an element of the environment of the order preparation station.

[0021] Another objective of the invention is to provide an order preparation technique which is simple to implement and inexpensive. Summary

[0022] These objectives, as well as others which will appear subsequently, are achieved using a method for preparing at least part of an order comprising at least one item, implemented using: - an order preparation station; - a plurality of shelves; - a first set of self-guided trolleys capable of rolling on the ground, intended to pick up storage containers of at least one item stored in said shelves and to transport them to said order preparation station, and - a second set of self-guided trolleys capable of rolling on the ground, intended to transport collection containers containing at least some of the items of the same order from said order preparation station to a dispatch station for said order, to a temporary storage area or to a conveyor connected to a dispatch station for said order, said method comprising the following steps: • a step of placing a collection container at said order preparation station comprising the steps of: • association with said ordering party of a collection container; • removal of said collection container with which said control part is associated by a trolley selected from the second set of trolleys; • transporting said collection container by said cart selected from the second set of carts to a first predetermined parking location facing the position of a operator or a robotic arm at the order preparation station; • a step of placing at least one storage container at said order preparation station comprising the steps of: • association with at least one trolley of said first set of a storage container containing at least one item of said control part; • picking by said trolley(s) of the first set with which are associated storage containers of articles of said control part of said storage container(s) containing articles of said control part in said shelves; • transporting said storage container(s) by said cart(s) to a second predetermined parking location adjacent to said first predetermined parking location and facing the position of an operator or a robotic arm at the order preparation station; • a step of picking up by an operator or a robotic arm at least one item from said control part in a storage container directly above said second parking location and placing said item in said collection container directly above said first parking location; • a step of transporting said collection container in which the item(s) of said order part have been placed by said trolley of said second set to an order dispatch station, a temporary storage area or a conveyor connected to an order dispatch station.

[0023] Thus, in a novel manner, the invention proposes to position the trolleys conveying the products to the order preparation station or leaving it on two adjacent locations facing the operator or a robotic arm and, preferably, within reach of the latter so that the operator does not need to walk or to not have to move the motorized arm on the ground, in order to be able to transfer the articles of an order between the storage containers and the collection containers in a simple and ergonomic movement of an arm of the operator or the robotic arm and in a reduced time.

[0024] Furthermore, the position of the first and second parking spaces can be easily modified, without losing efficiency in order preparation time, which makes it possible to develop and / or increase the capacity of a warehouse. or the store where orders are prepared within very short timeframes.

[0025] Furthermore, the order preparation method according to the invention offers very great flexibility with regard to the management of the fleet of trolleys, the same trolley being able to be used alternatively to ensure the transport of storage containers or collection containers and therefore be part of the first or second set of trolleys as required.

[0026] Furthermore, thanks to the method according to the invention, several orders consisting of articles stored at different storage locations in the workshop, the store or the warehouse, can be carried out simultaneously and in a reduced time.

[0027] It is thus possible to begin to carry out a first order at the preparation station, using a first collection container brought by a trolley of the second set, by asking an operator or a robotic arm to place therein some of the articles of the first order, these articles contained in different storage containers having been transported beforehand to the preparation station, by a plurality of trolleys of the first set of trolleys.

[0028] In the event that the preparation of a second order becomes a priority or if it is not possible to finalize the preparation of the first order because an item from it is missing, the trolley of the second set leaves space in the first parking space for another trolley of the second set carrying a second collection container for the preparation of a second order and transports the first collection container in which some of the items from the first order have been placed to a temporary storage area, pending the finalization of the first order.

[0029] Preparation of the second order can then begin, by instructing the operator or robotic arm to deposit items of the second order contained in storage containers brought to the station by trolleys of the first set into the second collection container. Once all or part of the items of the second order have been deposited in the second collection container, the latter can be sent to a temporary storage area, to a shipping station or a conveyor connected to a shipping station.

[0030] In summary, at least three operating modes for preparing an order can be envisaged using the method according to the invention:

[0031] Example 1: preparation of a “simple” order consisting of a single item

[0032] After associating a trolley from the first set with the storage container containing the single item in the order, this cart transports the storage container to the second predetermined parking location at the order preparation station. The operator or a robotic arm or robot picks the item and places it in a collection container located at the first predetermined parking location, brought by a cart from the second set of carts. The collection container can then be transferred to a temporary storage area or to a shipping station

[0033] Example 2: preparation of a “simple” order made up of several different items stored in different locations in a warehouse.

[0034] The preparation of the order takes place in a manner substantially similar to example 1. The order comprising several items, several trolleys from the first set are provided here to pick up the storage containers each containing one of the items of the order, after having associated with each one of the storage containers to be picked, and to present them one after the other at the second predetermined parking location. An operator or a robotic arm then successively picks up the different items of the order and places them in a collection container located at the first predetermined parking location, brought by a trolley from the second set of trolleys. The collection container can then be transferred to a temporary storage area or to a shipping station.

[0035] Example 3: preparation of part of an order comprising several items and putting this order on hold to prepare another order which has in the meantime become a priority.

[0036] In this example, the preparation of an order begins according to the procedure of Example 2. If another order becomes a priority, the transfer of the items of the order being prepared into the collection container is interrupted at the order preparation station, and this collection container is transported onto the trolley of the second set which carries it to a temporary storage area. This frees up the first predetermined parking location for a trolley of the second set carrying the collection container associated with the order that has become a priority and the preparation of the order that has become a priority can begin by transporting storage containers containing items of the order that has become a priority using trolleys of the first trolley set to the second parking location.

[0037] The above examples of operating modes are in no way limiting of the manner of managing trolleys, articles and orders when implementing the method of the present invention. They are simply intended to illustrate the flexibility offered by said method with regard to the management of trolleys and with regard to the creation of orders.

[0038] It will also be noted that within the scope of the invention, the term trolley is understood to mean any motorized vehicle equipped with at least two wheels for rolling on the ground (and capable of therefore have 2, 3 or 4 or even a greater number of rolling wheels) and intended to transport a load, with the exception of any flying machine.

[0039] Furthermore, the terms "articles" and "products" can be substituted for each other. They simply designate an object, in particular a commercial object, stored in a workshop, a store or a warehouse, in particular with a view to being associated with another article to fulfill an order.

[0040] It should also be noted that within the scope of the invention, the temporary storage area may be an area intended to store orders waiting to be delivered at a “drive”, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0041] In a particular embodiment of the invention, said first parking space and said second parking space are formed of two substantially adjacent flat surfaces forming a portion of the upper part of a ramp.

[0042] The items to be collected can thus be easily placed at the height of an operator, which also makes their placement in the collection containers easier.

[0043] In a variant of this particular embodiment of the invention, said first parking space and said second parking space are at different heights.

[0044] It is thus possible to independently adapt the height of the upper opening of the storage containers and the upper opening of the collection containers, for example to place these openings substantially at the same level if the storage containers and the collection containers have different height dimensions.

[0045] According to a particular aspect of the invention, said ramp comprises means for charging a battery of one of said trolleys of said first and / or said second set.

[0046] These may be, for example, induction charging modules, also called "pads", which allow the batteries of the trolleys to be charged when they are parked on the ramp. This saves time and space, because it is not necessary to provide additional charging stations or at least the capacity and / or the number of other charging stations can be reduced.

[0047] Advantageously, said first parking space and / or said second parking space is inclined relative to the horizontal.

[0048] This makes it easier to remove an item from a storage container and place it in a collection container.

[0049] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, when said control part comprises a plurality of different items, said step of transporting said storage containers comprises a step of positioning said trolleys of said first set following a line aligned and directed towards said second parking space.

[0050] The storage containers containing various items from the same order part can thus be presented one after the other at the first location without loss of time.

[0051] According to a particular aspect of the invention, said storage containers and said collection containers are bins.

[0052] In variants, these may be baskets or crates.

[0053] Preferably, at least some of the trolleys of said first set of trolleys are also trolleys belonging to said second set of trolleys or vice versa.

[0054] This reduces the total number of trolleys to be used to transport storage containers and collection containers.

[0055] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said second set of carriages is a subset of said first set of carriages or vice versa.

[0056] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the base of said robotic arm is fixed or rotates around an axis fixed relative to the ground. Brief description of the drawings

[0057] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention, given as a simple illustrative and non-limiting example, and the appended drawings among which: Fig.l

[0058] [Fig.l] is a representation of an e-commerce distribution warehouse in which an exemplary embodiment of an order preparation method according to the invention is implemented; Fig. 2

[0059] [Fig.2] is a detailed perspective view of an order preparation station of the warehouse shown with reference to [Fig.l]; Fig. 3

[0060] [Fig.3] is a partial front view of the order preparation station shown with reference to [Fig.2]; Fig. 4

[0061] [Fig.4] is a partial side view of the order preparation station shown with reference to [Fig.2]. Description of the embodiments

[0062] [Fig.l] illustrates a robotic distribution warehouse 10 of an e-commerce company. This warehouse is organized into three zones: a storage zone 11, an order preparation zone 12 equipped with order preparation stations orders 121 and a shipping area 13 equipped with a package creation and shipping station 131.

[0063] The storage area 11 consists of a plurality of shelves 14 formed of shelves on several levels supported by uprights 15, and organized in successive parallel rows. Storage bins 16 which can contain all similar articles or a plurality of different articles from the same range of products are stored on these shelves. Furthermore, it will be noted that some of these shelves are reserved for the temporary storage of order collection bins, before their transport to the dispatch station 131.

[0064] A first fleet of automatically guided trolleys 17, equipped with four rolling wheels on the ground, ensures the transport of the storage bins 16 between the storage area 11 and the order preparation stations 121.

[0065] When a robot 17 receives instructions to pick up a bin 16 containing one or more items of an order from a shelf, the robot 17 rolls on the ground to the foot of the shelf 14 where this bin 16 is stored and climbs along this shelf, taking support on the shelf facing the latter, to the level of the shelf where this bin 16 is stored and picks it up. The trolley 17 then descends between the two shelves, and once on the ground, transports the bin 16 to the order preparation station 121.

[0066] A second fleet of automatically guided trolleys 18 ensures the transport of collection bins grouping together several items from the same order previously taken from storage bins 16 transported to the order preparation station 121 of the latter to the dispatch station 131.

[0067] In a variant of this particular embodiment of the invention, it may be provided that a robot 17 or 18 is used both to transport storage bins 16 to an order preparation station 121 and, intermittently, to transport collection bins to the dispatch station 131 or vice versa, depending on the evolution of needs and the availability of the other robots in these fleets at any given time.

[0068] [Fig. 2] shows in detail an order preparation station 121 in a perspective profile view.

[0069] In this particular embodiment of the invention, the order preparation station 121 is equipped with a lifting ramp 21 and a robotic arm 26 known per se.

[0070] The storage bins 16 are transported to this order preparation station 121 by trolleys 17 of the first set of self-guided trolleys which take the raising ramp 21 from the left side. The trolleys 18 of the second set of self-guided trolleys leave the ramp 21 via its right side, in this particular embodiment of the invention.

[0071] The upper end of the ramp 21 is surmounted by a grid 27 separating the robotic arm 26 from the circulation zone of the robots 17 and 18. An opening 29 is also formed in this grid to allow access of the robots 17 and 18 within range of the robotic arm 26.

[0072] The robotic arm 26, mounted on a fixed base 261, is intended to pick up an article from a storage bin 16 conveyed by a robot 17 to a predetermined parking location 23 at the end of the ramp 21 (shown by dotted lines in [Fig. 2] and in [Fig. 3], which is a front view of the order preparation station 121) and to place it in an article collection bin 24 transported by a robot 18 to a predetermined parking location 25 at the end of the ramp 26 (shown by dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3).The first parking location 25 and the second parking location 23 of the robots being advantageously adjacent and facing the robotic arm 26, the movements of the arm 26, for each item handled, are limited to taking an item from the storage bin 16, to a rotation of the arm to position the arm above the collection bin 24, to the depositing following a substantially vertical movement of the item in the collection bin 24 and a return to its initial position, which makes it possible to repeat these operations with a high rate.

[0073] It is also easily understood that, in variants of this particular embodiment of the invention, where the operations carried out by the robotic arm are carried out by an operator, in addition to the time saving that this arrangement provides, the risks of musculoskeletal disorders occurring for the operator and the risks of articles falling onto the ground if they escape from the operator's hand are greatly reduced.

[0074] It can also be seen in [Fig. 4], which is a side view of the order preparation station 121 illustrated in [Fig. 2], that the respective parking locations 23 and 25 of the robots 18 and 17 are located on an inclined section 31 relative to the horizontal of the upper end of the ramp 21, which facilitates access by the robotic arm to the articles in the storage bins 16 and their deposit in the collection bins 24.

[0075] In order to limit the loss of time in transporting the various storage bins making it possible to constitute an order to the second parking space 25, the robots 17 are advantageously positioned in a line one behind the other on the ramp 21 while waiting for the space on the parking space 25 to be freed by the trolley preceding them after the article(s) of the order were taken from the storage bin supported by this trolley by the robotic arm 26, moving to the side.

[0076] In addition, charging pads 28 are provided on each of the edges of the ramp 21 to recharge the batteries of the robots 17 or 18.

Claims

1. Claims Method for preparing at least part of an order comprising at least one item, implemented using: • an order preparation station (121); • a storage area consisting of a plurality of shelves (14); • a first set (17) of self-guided trolleys capable of rolling on the ground, intended to pick up storage containers (16) of at least one item, stored in said shelves and to transport them to said order preparation station; and • a second set (18) of self-guided trolleys capable of rolling on the ground, intended to transport collection containers containing at least part of the items of the same order from said order preparation station to a dispatch station for said order, to a temporary storage area or to a conveyor connected to a dispatch station for said order; according to which the temporary storage area includes shelves in the storage area reserved for the temporary storage of collection containers, said method comprising the following steps: • -a first step of transporting a collection container (24) associated with said order by a trolley selected from the second set of trolleys to a first predetermined parking location (25) facing the position of an operator or a robotic arm (26) at the order preparation station; • a step of transporting at least one storage container comprising at least one item of said order by at least one first trolley of said first set (17) of trolleys to a second predetermined parking location (23) adjacent to said first predetermined parking location and facing the position of an operator or a robotic arm (26) at the order preparation station (121); • a step of picking up by an operator or a robotic arm (26) at least one item from said control part in a storage container directly above said second parking location (23) and depositing said item in said collection container directly above said first parking location; • a second step of transporting said collection container in which the item(s) from said control part have been deposited by said trolley of said second assembly to the temporary storage area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second step of transporting said collection container to the temporary storage area is carried out pending finalization of said order.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, also comprising: - a step of placing a collection container at said order preparation station comprising the steps of: • associating a collection container with said order part; • picking up said collection container with which said order part is associated by a trolley selected from the second set of trolleys; and • said first step of transporting the collection container to the first predetermined parking location, and - a step of placing at least one storage container at said order preparation station comprising the steps of: • associating a storage container containing at least one item of said order part with at least one trolley of said first set;• removal by said trolley(s) of the first set to which are associated storage containers of articles from said control part of said container(s); storage containing items of said control part in said shelves; and • said step of transporting said storage container(s) to the second predetermined parking location.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said first parking space and said second parking space are formed of two substantially adjacent planar surfaces forming a portion of the upper part of a ramp.

5. Method according to claim 4, according to which said ramp comprises means for charging a battery of one of said trolleys of said first and / or said second set.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said first parking space and / or said second parking space is inclined relative to the horizontal.

7. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, when said control portion comprises a plurality of different items, said first step of transporting said storage containers comprises a step of positioning said trolleys of said first set in an aligned line directed towards said second parking location.

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said storage containers and said collection containers are bins.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein at least some of the carriages of said first set of carriages are also carriages belonging to said second set of carriages or vice versa.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said second set of carriages is a subset of said first set of carriages or vice versa.

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the base of said robotic arm is fixed or rotates about an axis fixed relative to the ground.

12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said first parking space and said second parking space are at different heights.

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