Case reorientation system and method

Abstract

The case orientation system includes a frame having a reference datum surface and a lateral transfer section rotatably coupled to the frame about a lateral rotation axis, the lateral transfer section including a substantially continuously movable platform configured to support and transfer at least one case in a case lateral movement direction along the lateral rotation axis, the substantially continuously movable platform rotating about the lateral rotation axis to orient the case lateral movement direction to another lateral movement direction, a biasing support disposed adjacent to and opposite the lateral transfer section and movably coupled to the frame for movement relative to the frame opposite the lateral transfer section, the biasing support configured to abut and seat against at least one case seating surface to support the at least one case in a first orientation relative to the reference datum surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] [Cross - Reference to Related Applications] This application is a non - provisional application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 946,763, filed on December 11, 2019, and claims the benefit thereof, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] [Technical Field] Exemplary embodiments generally relate to distribution facilities, and more specifically, to case conveyance within a distribution facility.

Background Art

[0003] Generally, articles are transported and / or stored in cases and / or containers, and are generally referred to as cased articles. Cased articles can be articles transported from one distribution location to another. Cased articles can be stored at a predetermined storage location in a distribution facility such as a warehouse or a distribution facility. In some cases, the distribution facility is automated such that cased articles are transported to and from a storage space having automated equipment. When a cased article is introduced into a distribution facility, the cased article can be removed from a pallet and placed on a conveyor. It may be desirable to re - orient some of the cased articles placed on the conveyor from their initial orientation on the conveyor so that the re - oriented cased articles are transported and placed at a storage location.

[0004] Conventional case re - orientation / tipping devices generally result in an unconstrained orientation of cased articles and generally increase the length of the case - conveyance system in which they are used.

[0005] The above - described aspects and other features of the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a distribution facility according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram of a palletized load according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] This is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the distribution equipment shown in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the disclosed configuration. [Figure 3B] This is a schematic top view of a portion of the distribution equipment shown in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a schematic perspective view of a portion of the distribution equipment shown in Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A] This is a schematic perspective view of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of a portion of the case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5C] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of a portion of the case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5D] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of a portion of the case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5E] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram of a portion of the case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6A] This is a schematic diagram of the case orientation sequence of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6B] This is a schematic diagram of the case orientation sequence of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6C] This is a schematic diagram of the case orientation sequence of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6D] This is a schematic diagram of the case orientation sequence of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6E]This is a schematic diagram of the case orientation sequence of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6F] This is a schematic diagram of the case orientation sequence of a case orientation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart of an automated case orientation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a warehouse system or distribution facility 100WS (hereinafter referred to as warehouse system 100WS) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. While embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the figures, it should be understood that embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in many forms. Furthermore, any appropriate size, shape, or type of elements or materials may be used. Although warehouse system 100WS is described herein as an automated warehouse system, it should be understood that embodiments of the disclosed embodiments are also applicable to distribution facilities with any appropriate conveying system, such as both automated and manual conveying systems, or to fully manual conveying systems.

[0008] Referring to Figures 1 and 5A, aspects of the present disclosure provide a case orientation system 500 that can be incorporated into an inbound / outbound case conveyor 150 (or any other suitable case handling system of a warehouse system 100WS) without substantially increasing the length of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150 (or any other suitable case handling system of any other suitable case handling system). For example, the case orientation system 500 has a length 599 (i.e., in the direction of case movement, also called the traverse axis 595 of the conveyor 150) that is substantially the same handling length as a standard (i.e., non-reorienting for the maximum receiving case size of the system (i.e., unit conveyor length)) conveyor section. In one embodiment, the length 599 of the case orientation system 500 is such that the case orientation system 500 can replace a standard (i.e., non-reorienting for the maximum receiving case size of the system) conveyor section having a length of approximately 30 inches (approximately 740 mm). However, in other embodiments, the length 599 of the case orientation system 500 may be substantially the same as any suitable standard (i.e., non-reorienting for the maximum size of the system's receiving cases) length of a conveyor section, so that the length of the case orientation system 500 can be replaced with a conveyor section of a standard length (i.e., non-reorienting for the maximum size of the system's receiving cases), or otherwise, they may be interchangeable.

[0009] As described in more detail herein, the case orientation system 500 includes a traverse transport or conveyor section 510 and a bias support or pressure plate section 520. Each of the traverse transport section 510 and the bias support section 520 is independently movable relative to each other, for example, to result in a controlled transfer of cases (e.g., substantially free of case pressing) from the bias support section 520 to the traverse transport section 510. The controlled transfer of the case unit from the bias support section 520 to the traverse transport section 510 reorients the case unit (e.g., rotates or otherwise pivots) by, for example, about 90° relative to the case transport surface 390 of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150.

[0010] Referring again to Figure 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the warehouse system 100WS includes a storage and retrieval system 100 which may operate in a retail distribution center or warehouse to fulfill orders received from retailers, for example, for case units. In one example, the case unit may be a case or unit of articles that is not stored (e.g., not contained) in a tray, on a tote, or on a pallet. In another example, the case unit may be a case or unit of articles contained in any and appropriate manner, such as in a tray, on a tote, or on a pallet. The case unit may include a cased unit of articles (e.g., a case of soup cans, a box of cereal, etc.) or individual articles that are adapted to be removed from or placed on a pallet. According to this embodiment, the transport case for the case unit (e.g., a carton, barrel, box, crate, jug, or any other device suitable for holding the case unit) may be sizable in size, may be used to hold the case unit in transport, and may be configured to be palletizable for transport. For example, when a bundle of case units or a pallet arrives at the storage and retrieval system 100, the contents of each pallet may be uniform (for example, each pallet may hold a predetermined number of identical items, one pallet may hold soup and another pallet may hold cereal), and when the pallet leaves the storage and retrieval system 100, the pallet may contain any appropriate number and combination of different case units (for example, each pallet may hold different types of case units, and the pallet may hold a combination of soup and cereal). In this embodiment, the storage and retrieval system 100 described herein may be applied to any environment in which the case units are stored and retrieved.

[0011] The storage and retrieval system 100 may be configured, for example, to be installed in an existing warehouse structure or to be adapted to a new warehouse structure. In embodiments of the present disclosure, the storage and retrieval system 100 may include one or more infeed transfer stations 170 and one or more outfeed transfer stations 160, inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B (commonly referred to as “inbound / outbound case conveyors 150”), a storage structure array 130, and a number of autonomous vehicle-type transport robots 110 (hereinafter referred to as “bots”). In embodiments of the present disclosure, the storage and retrieval system 100 may also include transport stations for robots or bots, such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 9,096,375, issued on August 4, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference to its entirety. In this embodiment, the bot transfer station may provide an interface between the bot 110 and the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150 so that the case unit can be indirectly transferred between the bot 110 and the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150 by passing through the bot transfer station. In this embodiment, the case unit may also be directly transferred between the bot 110 and the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150.

[0012] The storage structure array 130 may include multiple levels of storage rack modules that form a storage array of storage locations 130SL for case units, each of which storage locations 130SL is arranged to store at least one case unit in each storage location 130SL. In one embodiment, each level of the storage structure array 130 includes a storage / retrieval passage 130A and a transport deck 130B for transporting case units between any of the storage areas of the storage structure array 130 and any of the shelves of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150. The storage passage 130A and transport deck 130B are also configured to allow a bot 110 to traverse the storage passage 130A and transport deck 130B to place case units into the retrieval stock and retrieve the ordered case units, where the case units are stored in the storage passage 130A in the storage location 130SL and / or on the transport deck 130B, or otherwise held.

[0013] Bot 110 may be any suitable bot capable of transporting and transferring case units throughout the storage and retrieval system 100. For illustrative purposes only, suitable examples of bots include U.S. Patent No. 8,425,173 issued on April 23, 2013, U.S. Patent No. 9,561,905 issued on February 7, 2017, U.S. Patent No. 8,965,619 issued on February 24, 2015, U.S. Patent No. 8,696,010 issued on April 15, 2014, U.S. Patent No. 9,187,244 issued on November 17, 2015, and the invention filed on December 15, 2011, titled "Automated Bot with Transfer Arm". This is found in U.S. Patent Application No. 13 / 326,952 (a non-provisional patent application, U.S. Patent Application No. 61 / 423,365, filed on 15 December 2010), and U.S. Patent No. 9,499,338, issued on 22 November 2016, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference to their entirety. The bot 110 may be configured to place case units, such as the aforementioned retail goods, into retrieval stock at one or more levels of the storage structure array 130, and then selectively retrieve ordered case units for delivery, for example, to a store or other suitable location.

[0014] The infeed transfer station 170 and the outfeed transfer station 160 may operate in conjunction with their respective inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B to transfer case units bidirectionally to and from one or more levels of the storage structure array 130, bringing case units into and out of the storage structure array 130. Although the infeed transfer station 170 and the outfeed transfer station 160 (and their respective inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B and palletizer / depalletizer cells 10A, 10B) are described as transfer station 170 dedicated to inbound (e.g., sending in) and transfer station 160 dedicated to outbound (e.g., sending out), in embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the transfer stations 170, 160 may be used for both inbound and outbound transfers of case units from the storage and retrieval system 100. In this specification, an inbound / outbound case conveyor is described, but the conveyor may be any suitable conveyor (including any suitable orientation of the transport path, such as vertical and / or horizontal conveyor paths) or a transport / removal device having any suitable orientation of the transport path.

[0015] In one embodiment, each of the infeed transfer station 170 and the outfeed transfer station 160 includes its respective inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B and its respective palletizer / depalletizer cells 10A, 10B. As described above, one or more of the inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B (and / or palletizers and / or depalletizer cells 10A, 10B) may include a case orientation system 500 as described below herein. In one embodiment, the palletizer / depalletizer cells 10A, 10B may be automated cells each configured to receive loaded pallets (such as those comprising uniform or mixed case units or products) from a pallet load receiving area 175, which may include an inbound-outbound loaded pallet conveyor 175C (shown as an inbound conveyor in Figure 1), and / or to a pallet load shipping area 180, which may include an inbound-outbound loaded pallet conveyor 180C (shown as an outbound conveyor in Figure 1), for transport. In one embodiment, the conveyors 175C, 180C are each connected to a storage structure array 130 and configured to transport loaded pallets bidirectionally in an inbound direction toward the storage structure array 130 and in different outbound directions toward the storage structure array 130. In one embodiment, each of the conveyors 175C and 180C may include a conveyor arrangement having distributed conveyor beds arranged to form a transport path, or in another embodiment, the conveyors 175C and 180C may be separate transport units, such as forklifts / pallet trucks.Suitable examples of the automatic palletizer / depalletizer cells 10A, 10B are found in U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 035,204, filed on July 13, 2018 (entitled "Apparatus and Method for Building a Pallet Load"), U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 235,254, filed on August 12, 2016 (entitled "System and Method for Palletizing"), and U.S. Patent No. 8,965,559, issued on February 24, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Each palletizer / depalletizer cell 10 includes an articulated robot or one or more robotic case manipulators 14, which may also be referred to as robots. As described herein, the one or more robotic case manipulators 14 are configured to transport pallet load item units 585 (also referred to herein as cases or case units) to continuously place them on a pallet support while building a pallet load 250 on a pallet building base 301 (see FIG. 3).

[0016] When the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10 functions as a palletizer in the shipping role, palletized goods units 585, which may be of various sizes, arrive at the palletizer cell 10 via the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B, are picked up by one of the robotic case manipulators 14, and placed on pallets PAL as described below. When the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10 functions as a palletizer in the shipping role, full pallets PAL (see Figure 2), constructed from various case units, are ready to be lifted out of the palletizer cell 10 by a forklift for transport to the palletized goods outbound area 180. When the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10 functions as a depalletizer in the receiving role, full pallets constructed from various palletized goods units 585 (which may be formed from cases similar to and of the same type as pallets PAL, or mixed cases) are transferred from the palletized goods receiving area 175 to the depalletizer cell 10 by an appropriate method such as a forklift. One or more robotic case manipulators 14 remove the palletized goods units 585 (see Figure 2) from the pallets PAL (see Figure 2) for transfer to the storage structure array 130.

[0017] In one aspect, each infeed transfer station 170 forms a case receiving path Ip, in which the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10A unloads case units from the pallet layer by layer, or otherwise unloads case units from the pallet into a plurality of uniform single case units from a standard pallet (e.g., the same type of pallet having sufficient stability for automatic engagement of the pallet layer by an automatic layer interface unit such as the product extraction device 14). The palletizer / depalletizer cell 10A communicates with the conveyor system of the automated storage and retrieval system 100, such as the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A, to form an integrated receiving system (e.g., the infeed transfer station 170) that supplies case units 585 to the automated storage and retrieval system 100. Each infeed transfer station 170 defines a case receiving path Ip that is integrated with the automated storage and retrieval system 100 and the warehouse management system 199, where the warehouse management system 199 includes any suitable non-transitory program code and memory configured to manage at least the receipt of case units into the storage structure array 130B, the distribution of storage of case units within the storage management array 130B, the retrieval of case units from the storage management array 130B, the inventory / replenishment of case units, and the shipping of case units, and any suitable control device 199C.

[0018] In one embodiment, each case unit receiving path Ip includes at least one corresponding case unit inspection cell 142 that communicates with a warehouse management system 199. In one embodiment, the at least one corresponding case unit inspection cell 142 may be any suitable inspection cell, including inspection of any suitable volumetric measurement by any suitable other sensing / sensor device configured to detect defects in case units and identify case units 585 for, for example, inventory, transport sequencing, storage distribution, and shipping from the storage structure array 130B. As can be understood, the case unit inspection cell 142 may be configured to identify the orientation of case units 585 as they pass through the case unit inspection cell 142, so as to determine whether the height of case unit 585 exceeds a predetermined height of the storage structure 130.

[0019] For illustrative purposes only, the storage structure 130 may be configured to store and transport case units 585 having dimensions between approximately 5 inches (approximately 127 mm) (height) x approximately 6.5 inches (approximately 165 mm) (length) x approximately 5 inches (approximately 127 mm) (width) and approximately 24 inches (approximately 610 mm) (height) x approximately 20 inches (approximately 508 mm) (length) x approximately 16 inches (approximately 406 mm) (width) (referred to for the purposes of this description as the maximum receiving case size). On the other hand, in other embodiments, the storage structure 130 may be configured to store and transport case units 585 having any suitable dimensions. The case units 585 may be placed on a conveyor corresponding to the receiving route Ip, for example, by a palletizer / depalletizer cell 10A having a height of approximately 24 inches (approximately 610 mm), a length of approximately 20 inches (approximately 508 mm), and a width of approximately 16 inches (approximately 406 mm). Furthermore, for illustrative purposes, the storage structure 130 may have a storage area 130SL having a height of approximately 24 inches (approximately 610 mm), but not tall enough to accommodate a case unit 585 having a height of approximately 24 inches (approximately 610 mm) without interference. On the other hand, in other embodiments, the storage area 130SL of the storage structure 130 may be configured to store a case unit 585 of any suitable size. The case unit inspection cell 142 may be configured to identify case unit 585 as either a passing case unit 586 (i.e., a case that moves along the lateral movement axis 595 and passes through the case orientation system 500 without being reoriented) or a reoriented case unit 587 (i.e., a “case unit to be reoriented”) which will be reoriented by the case reoriented system 500 (as described in more detail herein).

[0020] In one embodiment, as described above, the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10A may be fully automated to break down or decommission layers from a pallet being unloaded by the palletizer / depalletizer 10A. Referring to Figure 2, the term “decommission” means removing pallet layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 from pallet PAL (whole or partially) so that each pallet load item unit 585 is removed from pallet PAL at a predetermined height 200 of pallet PAL (which may correspond to a decommissioning / commissioning height or a transport surface) so that pallet PAL is indexed to the next height of pallet PAL in order to remove the next layers PL4-PL1 corresponding to the next height of pallet PAL (whole or partially).

[0021] In one embodiment, the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10A is configured to dismantle layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 such that dismantling is synchronized with, or otherwise harmonized with (e.g., matched with) a predetermined flow or feed rate of a case unit established by a warehouse management system 199 in an automated storage and retrieval system 100. For example, in one embodiment, the warehouse management system 199 is configured to set and / or monitor a predetermined flow rate of case units in the automated storage and retrieval system 100. For example, the warehouse management system 199 monitors and manages multiple automated systems of the automated storage and retrieval system 100 (e.g., inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B, bots 110, and palletizer / depalletizer cells 10A, 10B, etc.), where each of the multiple automated systems, or one or more of the multiple automated systems, under the control of any other appropriate control device of the automated storage and retrieval system 100 (e.g., bot control device, conveyor control device, palletizer / depalletizer control device, etc.), individually or in combination, a predetermined transaction time that actually defines the flow rate of a given case unit in the automated storage and retrieval system 100 established by the warehouse management system 199. The time (time / period for providing a basic unit of transport or transfer of cases, for example, time / period for lifting case units at predetermined intervals or for transporting bots on a storage location, for transporting case units loaded / unloaded onto / from a receiving / shipping case conveyor 150 to a pick-up / placement station, etc.) is provided. For example, the control device 199C of the warehouse management system 199 is communicably connected to the receiving-shipping case conveyors 150A, 150B so that the receiving-shipping case conveyors 150A, 150B transport case units bidirectionally to and from the storage structure array 130 in a predetermined case supply quantity.The control device 199C may be communicatively connected to the palletizer-depalletizer cells 10A, 10B corresponding to the inbound-outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B, such that the construction and dismantling of layers of substantially continuous palletizer / depalletizer cells 10A are matched to a predetermined case supply rate. While the embodiments of the disclosed features described herein relate to a warehouse system 100WS having an automated storage and retrieval system 100 with an automated transport system, the embodiments of the disclosed features are also applicable to distribution facilities having any suitable transport system, such as both automated and manual transport systems, or a fully manual transport system.

[0022] In one embodiment, each outfeed transfer station 160 forms a case shipping route Op for palletizing case units layer by layer on a pallet PAL, such that a palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B uses an automated layer interface unit such as one or more robotic case manipulators 14. In one embodiment, the pallet PAL may be formed as a standard pallet (e.g., a homogeneous case unit) as described in U.S. Patent No. 9,856,083, issued on January 2, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference to its entirety.

[0023] In one embodiment, the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B communicates with a transport system of the automated storage and retrieval system 100, such as an inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B, to form an integrated shipping system (e.g., an outfeed transport station 160) that receives case units from the automated storage and retrieval system 100 for placement on a pallet, according to any appropriate case shipping sequence. For example, as described above, the palletized goods units 585 (shipping case units) are shipped to one or more robotic case manipulators 14 in a state arranged in a predetermined sequence established by the warehouse management system 190, and are transported layer by layer to a pallet PAL by the end effectors of one or more robotic case manipulators 14 to form a standard shipping palletized load (the layers may cover the pallet entirely or partially).

[0024] Each outfeeder transfer station 160 defines a case shipping route Op which is integrated into an automated storage and retrieval system 100 and a warehouse management system 199, where the warehouse management system 199 includes any suitable control device 199C which consists of any suitable non-temporary program code and memory to manage the operation of the warehouse system 100WS, including the shipping of case units from the storage structure array 130B, as described herein. In one embodiment, the shipping route Op for each case unit includes at least one corresponding case unit inspection cell 142 (as described above) which communicates with the warehouse management system 199. In one embodiment, as described above, the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B is fully automated to build or commission layers onto pallets loaded in the palletizer / depalletizer 10B. Referring to Figure 2, the term "commission" refers to the process of constructing pallet layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 (whole or partially) on pallet PAL so that each pallet load item unit 585 is inserted into layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 at a predetermined height (level) 200 of pallet PAL (this height may correspond to the decommissioning / commissioning height or the transport surface) until pallet layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 are formed so that pallet layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 are formed so that pallet load items 585 are inserted into layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5, at a predetermined height (level) 200 of pallet PAL (this height may correspond to the decommissioning / commissioning height or the transport surface), so that pallet load items 585 are inserted into layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5, and so on, until pallet layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 are formed so that pallet load items 585 are formed at the next layer of pallet PALIn one embodiment, the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B is configured to construct layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5 in an automated storage and retrieval system 100 in a manner substantially similar to that described above with respect to the dismantling of layers PL1, PL2, PL3, PL4, PL5, in such a manner that it is synchronized with, or otherwise harmonized with (e.g., matched with) the flow or feed rate of a given case unit established by the warehouse management system 199, where the warehouse management system 199 manages the sequence of retrieval of the case units, the sequence of shipment of mixed case units for loading in a sequence of palletized loads of mixed case units, and other related aspects of shipment such as inventory matching. In one embodiment, as described herein, the case unit inspection cell 142 and the case orientation system 500 may be positioned in the shipping path Op for case units so as to result in the reorientation of case units to be picked up by the robotic case manipulation 14 for placement on a pallet, where the case units are reoriented by the case orientation system 500 according to any suitable predetermined pallet construction scheme (e.g., forming a stable stack of cases, packaging the case units on the pallet with minimal gaps between the case units to be placed on the pallet).

[0025] Referring to Figures 3A and 3B, a portion of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A is shown, and the portion of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A forms the inbound to the storage structure 130, which includes a case orientation system 500. The inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A includes a singulator 310. A suitable example of a singulator can be found, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 9,359,150, issued on June 7, 2016, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference to their entirety. As an example, the singulator 310 includes a layer drop zone 312, a layer break-up system 319, a case unit inspection cell 142 (for example, as described above), two robots 322, and two shipping stations. The layer loading area 312 is configured to receive layers 314 of case units 585 from a robot 330 of the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10A or any other suitable mechanized case handling device (e.g., a forklift) or a human. The layer separation system 319 is located downstream from the layer loading area 312 and is configured to separate layers of case units that are placed on the layer loading area 312 by the robot 330. The case unit inspection cell 142 in this embodiment includes two arrays 320 consisting of sensors that verify the position of each case unit 585 and characterize each case unit 585 (e.g., size, orientation, etc., as described above). Each of the two robots 322 (for illustrative purposes, two robots are shown here, but the inbound / outbound case conveyor system may have one or more robots of any desired number) includes an end of an arm tool 324 configured to pick up and position at least one case unit in order to transport the case unit from one location to another, as described herein. Here, the two shipping stations form a shipping conveyor 325 and a detachment conveyor 326, respectively. However, in another embodiment, a single shipping conveyor may be provided.The shipping conveyor 325 and the removal conveyor 326 both comprise linear conveyors positioned downstream from the layer separation system 319 and configured to receive singulated (e.g., separated for individual transport) case units. The shipping conveyor 325 and the removal conveyor 326 may be roller conveyors, belt conveyors, or any other suitable conveyors, electric or non-electric. The shipping conveyor 325 extends along the lateral movement axis 595 and includes a case orientation system 500. Case units 585 move laterally along the shipping conveyor 325 and are identified by a case unit inspection cell 142. As described above, case units 585 are commonly identified as pass-through case units 586 and re-orientation case units 587. Pass-through case units 586 move along the shipping conveyor 325 (i.e., along the lateral movement axis 595) in the pass-through case traverse direction 598. The case unit, identified as case unit 587, is reoriented by the case reorientation system 500 (as further described below) before proceeding along the shipping conveyor 352 (i.e., along the lateral movement axis 595). The case reorientation system 500 is a compact system, formed to the size and shape corresponding to the largest case size to be received, and, as described below, causes reorientation and lateral movement through the case reorientation system within the envelope 650 (Figure 6A) corresponding to the largest case size to be received for the storage and retrieval system 100.

[0026] The layer loading area 312 includes an electric conveyor 312C configured thereon to receive a full pallet layer 314 of case unit 585 from the depretizer / depretizer cell 10A. The electric conveyor 312C is configured to transport the pallet layer 314 to the layer disassembly system 319 in direction 342. The conveyor 312 may be any suitable conveyor, including but not limited to roller conveyors, belt conveyors, etc., or any other suitable conveyor having a surface 328 sufficient to receive a full pallet layer of a typical size, and any other suitable conveyor that is electric for transporting the full pallet layer 314 to the layer disassembly area 319. In one embodiment, the conveyor 312C is not electric, and any suitable pressing mechanism (e.g., human or automated) is used to move the layer 314 along the conveyor 312C. In yet another embodiment, the full pallet layer 314 may be arranged to be received substantially directly by the layer separation system 319.

[0027] For illustrative purposes only, a typical layer size (width × length) is approximately 101.6 cm × 121.9 cm (approximately 40” × 48”). However, in other embodiments, the pallet layer may have pallet layers of any appropriate size, and the surface 328 may be configured to receive pallet layers of any appropriate size. For example, the layer input area 312 and / or layer decomposition system 319 of the singulator 310 may be configured to receive layers having sizes between approximately 81.3 cm × 101.6 cm (approximately 32 inches × approximately 40 inches) and approximately 111.8 cm × 132.1 cm (approximately 44 inches × approximately 52 inches). In other embodiments, the singulator 310 and / or the layer loading area 312 may be configured to accept layers having a size smaller than about 81.3 cm × about 101.6 cm (about 32 inches × about 40 inches) and / or larger than about 111.8 cm × about 132.1 cm (about 44 inches × about 52 inches). The pallet layer may be a mixed pallet layer having mixed case units 585 (for example, case units containing different goods), where the case units 585 may have substantially the same or different geometric shapes. On the other hand, in other embodiments, the pallet layer may be homogeneous layers having case units containing the same goods and having substantially similar geometric shapes.

[0028] The layer separation system 319 is configured to separate or create gaps 333 and 335 between each case unit 585, where the gaps are sufficient for the visual system 320 to detect each case unit 585 independently of other case units 585 being transported through the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A. In one embodiment, the layer separation system 319 includes a multi-belt conveyor having a plurality of diverging motorized belts 332 that together define tapered conveying surfaces 334 that orient the case units 585 along a diverging path. Belt 332 is driven independently at the same or different speeds so as to generate lateral and longitudinal gaps 333 and 335 between case units moving along belt 322, where the lateral and longitudinal gaps 333 and 335 increase from the incoming side edge 336 of the layer-breaking system 319 to the outgoing side edge 338 of the layer-breaking system 319. In other embodiments, the layer-breaking system 319 may have any suitable configuration to bring about the separation of case units for identification by the visual system 320, such as one or a combination thereof of a plurality of independently driven inclined rollers, a multi-belt conveyor, a suitable multi-speed conveying mechanism, etc.

[0029] As described above, the case unit inspection cell 142 in this embodiment includes an array of two sensors. However, in other embodiments, the case unit inspection cell 142 may have any suitable number of sensors. In one embodiment, the sensor 320 may be located, for example, above the shipping end of the layer separation system 319, where the sensor 320 is attached to the ceiling of the warehouse system 100WS, to a portion of the frame or gantry of the layer separation system 319 extending above the belt 332, or to any other suitable location for bringing about the detection of case units moving on the belt 332. The sensor 320 is positioned and configured to acquire an image of the case units 585 located within the case unit inspection cell 142 and / or located on the belt 332 of the layer separation system 319. In one embodiment, the sensor 320 is configured to acquire an image of the case units 585, where the image includes a depth map that gives a stereoscopic view of the case units 585, or any other suitable image / multiple images that provide a determination of the dimensions of at least each case unit 585. The case unit inspection cell is connected to any suitable computer (such as control unit 199C) and is configured to receive and process (multiple) images acquired by sensor 320 in order to detect and verify the features of case units, verify the position of each case unit 585, and calculate the coordinates and orientation of the case units in a reference frame (e.g., coordinate system) known to robot 322. Examples of features of case units 585 that are detected and / or verified by the case unit inspection cell 142 as described herein include, but are not limited to, the dimensions and shape of case units 585, the separation interval between adjacent case units 585, the optimal exit vector for case units 585, color, descriptive letters, logos, symbols, and other prints, other engraved prints, etc., on case units 585 that may be seen from the top and / or schematic view of case units 585.Verification of the case unit 585 may include comparing a three-dimensional model of the case unit 585 (e.g., generated by a depth map) with a predetermined model of the case unit 585 to determine if there is a defect in the case unit 585 (e.g., damage to the case unit, an unforeseen / inappropriate case unit). A predetermined set of criteria, for example, stored in the memory of the control unit 199C or in memory accessible to the control unit 199C, may be employed to determine whether the product is defective.

[0030] The robots 322 on the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A may be any suitable transfer robot configured to grasp and transport case units 585 from one location to another. Each robot 322 may include the end of an arm tool 324 configured to handle goods 585 being introduced into (or removed from) the storage structure 130. The robots 322 are configured to grasp each case unit 585 and position each case unit 585 on one of the outbound conveyor 325 and the elimination conveyor 326 based on the identified characteristics of each case unit 585. For example, information about a case unit 585 found to be damaged by the case inspection cell 142 is transported by one of the robots 322 from the layer separation system 319 and / or the case inspection cell 142 to the elimination conveyor 326. Robot 322 may also be configured, as described in more detail herein, to provide the case orientation system 500 with at least two degrees of freedom (e.g., linear and lateral effective set Δ, yaw θ rotation) shunt paths to the case units (see Figures 3B and 6A) in order to make the case orientation system 500 compact, so as to position each case unit to be reoriented on the case orientation system 500 included in the inbound / outbound case conveyor system 150A based on the identified characteristics of each case unit 585. The case orientation system 500 also brings about the reorientation of the corresponding case units (without substantially interrupting the flow of non-reoriented cases of the passing case units 586 passing through the case orientation system 500) substantially within the processing time of the case flow (either alone or in cooperation with each robot). As can be understood, the gaps 333 and 335 generated between the case units 585 by the stratification system 319 allow the two robots 322 to capture the case units 585 with their ends of arm tools 324. In one embodiment, the end of the arm tool 324 includes a plurality of adjustable vertical side plates 340 that together define a clamp.The adjustable vertical side plates 340 are movable toward and away from each other to grip and release one or more case units 585. In another embodiment, the ends of the artul 324 are vacuum grippers or any other suitable gripping devices configured to grip and release the case units 585 for transporting the case units 585.

[0031] The shipment from the singulator 310 of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150A is a flow of multiple case units 585 positioned on the outbound conveyor 325 in a desired orientation or group based on a specific pattern. An example of such a pattern includes a group of case units 585 assembled according to a predetermined arbitrary suitable arrangement, including a specific orientation (which orientation satisfies, for example, the height limit of the storage structure 130). The goods arranged in such a manner can be said to be single (for example, moved individually to areas selected and separated from the pallet layer).

[0032] Referring to Figure 4, a portion of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B and the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B are shown, and the portion of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B and the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B form a shipment from the storage structure 130, including the case orientation system 500. Generally, the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B is substantially similar to the conveyors 325, 326 described above, where a portion of the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150 may be formed by the case orientation system 500. The case unit inspection cell 142 may be positioned along the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B or otherwise connected to the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B to identify the features of the case unit 585 (e.g., those features described above) so as to result in the arrangement of the case unit 585 in the pallet layer 414.

[0033] The palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B includes any suitable robot 422 which may be substantially similar to the robot 322 described above. The robot 422 includes any suitable end of an arm tool 424 (substantially similar to the end of the arm tool 324 described above) to grasp the case unit 585 to construct a pallet load PL, or otherwise to grasp the case unit 585 and move it from a location to a desired destination. In one embodiment, the end of the arm tool 424 may be capable of 3-D motion (e.g., along the x, y, z axes, with at least θ (yaw rotation)). The movement of the end of the arm tool 424 (substantially similar to the arm tool 324 in the envelope 650 of the case orientation system) in the x, y directions forms a branching path of Δ, and thus the θ rotation results in a yaw rotation. Thus, the end of the arm tool 424 may be located on a suitable movable chassis 462 of the robot 422, equipped with a suitable drive unit to facilitate the desired case gripping operation. The robot 422 shown in Figure 4 comprises a linkable arm 465 and an end of an arm tool 424 hanging from the linkable arm 465. Here again, the linkage of the arm may be such that it allows for a desired range of motion of the end of the arm tool 424 along the x, y, and z axes. The configuration of the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B and robot 422 shown in Figure 4 is illustrative, and in other embodiments, the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B and robot 422 may have any other suitable configuration, such as the configuration described in U.S. Patent No. 8,965,559, issued on February 24, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference to its entirety. The operation and movement of the case grip, including the path and trajectory between the pick-up location and the placement location, is determined and commanded by the palletizer control device 464 according to appropriate programming (which may communicate with control device 199C or form part of control device 199).As understood, data relating to the end of the arm tool 424 that retrieves the case unit 585 supplied to the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B by the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B, including case identification, dimensions, and retrieval position or location, may be provided to the palletizer control device 464 by the control device 199C. Data relating to the placement of the case grips, the case unit on the pallet PL, such as placement location (e.g., coordinate position on a desired reference frame of the pallet load), may be determined from the pallet load solution generated by the pallet load generator in accordance with this method, in accordance with programming features such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 8,965,559, which is incorporated herein by reference of its entirety, or may be provided to the palletizer control device 464. As seen in Figure 4, the case units 585 corresponding to each order (initialized, for example, via the warehouse management system 199) may be supplied to the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B in a desired order. The exemplary configuration in Figure 4 is shown as having a single outfeed conveyor for transporting cases to the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B, but in other embodiments, any suitable number of conveyors may be provided to supply case units corresponding to each order to the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B. The term conveyor is used herein (as stated above) to mean any suitable transport or transport that can transport case units along a desired transport path, and includes, for example, a movable belt conveyor, a roller or rotating bar conveyor or other suitable transport. The case units 585 may be queued in a desired order as described above, placed on the transport conveyor of the inbound / outbound case case conveyor 150B, arrive in the same order, and transported to the palletizer / depalletizer cell 10B. The desired case sequence may be predetermined or known to the control device 199C, and may be communicated to or shared with the palletizer control device 464 as described above, along with other relevant information such as case identifiers and case dimensions.Information regarding the case units corresponding to each order may also be transmitted to the palletizer control device 464. Thus, the palletizer control device 464 may recognize the case units constituting each order, and case information (e.g., case dimensions, identifiers, etc.) that enables the determination of the pallet stacking structure using the pallet stacking generator. As an example, as shown in Figure 4, the robot 422 may operate to retrieve a case unit 585 from the conveyor inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B. In some embodiments, pallet stacking may require one or more case units 585 to be reoriented for placement on the pallet. The case units to be reoriented are transferred by any suitable method, such as by the robot 422, to the biasing support 520 of the case reorientation system 500 for reorienting case units as described herein. The cases to be reoriented may be transferred by the robot 422 from the case orientation system 500 to the pallet.

[0034] The case orientation system 500 is described in more detail here with reference to Figures 3A–3B, 5A–5E, and 6A–6F. The case orientation system 500 is configured to handle the largest case unit 585 to be received (Figure 5D) or any case unit of any suitable dimensions (such as those described above) and may replace standard length conveyor sections of the inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A, 150B (i.e., not reorienting for the maximum case size accepted by the system) (Figure 1). The case orientation system 500 reorients the case unit 585 and includes in-situ extraction of the case unit to transport all of the case unit 585 from the case reorientation system 500 to a downstream conveyor section (e.g., one of the outbound conveyor section 325 and one of the outbound conveyor section 326 (Figures 3A and 3B)) within the processing time of the case flow. For example, the case orientation system 500 includes a frame 501, a lateral transport unit 510 rotatably connected to the frame 501, and a biasing support unit 520 movably connected to the frame 501. The frame 501 may have any suitable configuration for arranging a reference datum (e.g., case transport surface) 590 of the case orientation system 500 that is substantially coplanar with the case transport surface 390 of either the upstream and / or downstream conveyor section (see Figure 3A). The case transport surface 390 is substantially bounded by reference datum edges 513LE1, 513LE2 on which the transported case units are arranged, substantially aligned with a lateral axis 595 defining the lateral movement direction 598 of the lateral transport unit 510. The reference surface edges 513LE1 and 513LE2 are common to all cases up to the maximum size to be received, passing on the lateral movement axis 595 of the lateral movement conveying unit 510, and to the reorienting case 587 as described.

[0035] The traverse transport section 510 includes a traverse frame 512 which is rotatably connected to the frame 501 around a traverse pivot direction 511. The movable platform 513 is connected to the traverse frame 501. The movable platform 513 is configured to support a case of a predetermined size (such as those described above) that extends substantially across the movable platform 513 (i.e., a substantially continuous area of ​​the movable platform 513 substantially coincides with the area of ​​the bias surface 587BS of the largest of the case units 585 handled in the warehouse system or distribution equipment 100WS (e.g., the largest case unit to be received)). The movable platform 513 is configured to support and transport the case units 585 along the traverse axis 595, where the movable platform transports the case units 585 from the case orientation system 500 to, for example, a downstream conveyor section. In other embodiments, the movable platform may, at least partially, transport the case unit 585 from the upstream conveyor section to the case orientation system 500. In one embodiment, the movable platform 513 is substantially continuous and forms a belted conveyor 513B. However, in other embodiments, the movable platform may include one or more of a movable belt conveyor (such as a mat-top, chain-top, or other suitable belt conveyor), a roller or rotary bar conveyor, or other suitable conveying means. In one embodiment, any suitable conveyor drive system 580 (Figure 5B) (e.g., drive motor, transmission, etc.) is connected to the lateral movement frame 512 and the movable platform 513 to drive / move the movable platform 513 to bring the case transport across the case orientation system 500 in the lateral movement direction 598.

[0036] In one embodiment, the movable platform 513 has an overall length equivalent to, for example, the inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A and 150B (i.e., the movable platform 513 of the case orientation system 500 forms a single or common axis (lateral movement axis 595) with respect to each of the inbound / outbound case conveyors 150A and 150B (see Figure 3)). The movable platform 513 is configured to support a passing case unit 586 and transport the passing case unit 586 along the lateral movement axis 595 in the lateral movement direction 598 of the passing cases, and to support a re-orienting case 587 and transport the re-orienting case 587 in the lateral movement direction 594 in which the case is re-orienting. In one embodiment, the reference plane 590 positions the reorienting case unit 587 such that, as the lateral movement conveying unit 510 moves, it is coplanar with a common case support surface 590C, and the reorienting lateral movement direction 594 substantially coincides with the lateral movement direction 598 of the passing cases. It should be noted that the edges 513LE1 and 513LE2 form the edges of the reference plane 590 to position the passing cases 586 and the reorienting case unit 587 being transported therein, so that the reorienting case unit 587 is substantially aligned with the passing case unit 596, which is aligned with the lateral movement axis 595 defining the lateral movement direction 598 of the inbound-outbound case conveyor 150. As further described below, the biasing support 520 is configured to bring about the transport of the reorienting case unit 587 from the biasing support 520 to the substantially continuous movable platform 513 so as to align the reorienting case unit 587 with respect to the reference plane 590 between the edges 513LE1 and 513LE2 (the biasing support 520 positions the reorienting case unit 587 on the substantially continuous movable platform 513 in a position substantially aligned with respect to the edges 513LE1 and 513LE2, and substantially aligns the reorienting case unit 587 on the lateral movement axis 595 that defines the lateral movement direction 598 of the inbound-outbound case conveyor 150 (see Figures 5D and 5E), which substantially coincides with the reorienting operation, so that there is no further alignment of the reorienting case unit 587 to align the reorienting case unit 587 with the lateral movement axis 595 after reorientation).

[0037] Any suitable conveyor rotation system 570 may be connected to both the frame 501 and the lateral movement frame 512. The conveyor rotation system 570 may be configured to bring about rotational motion of the lateral movement conveying unit 510 around an independently controlled lateral movement rotation axis 511. In one embodiment, the conveyor rotation system 570 includes a biasing member 571 and an actuator 572. The actuator 572 controls the rotational motion (extension) of the lateral movement conveying unit 510 in direction 597, causing the lateral movement conveying unit 510 to rotate around the lateral movement rotation axis 511 toward (and / or toward) the biasing support 520. The actuator 572 may also control the rotational movement (contraction) of the lateral transport unit 510 in direction 596, such that the lateral transport unit 510 rotates around the lateral rotation axis 511 away from (and / or toward) the biasing support unit 520. In another embodiment, multiple actuators may bring about controlled extension and contraction of the lateral transport unit so that the lateral transport unit 510 rotates controllably around the lateral rotation axis 511 in both directions 596, 597. The (multiple) actuators 572 may be (multiple) linear actuators, or any other (multiple) suitable actuators that can be driven by their respective servo motors 570M, or any other suitable motors. In one embodiment, the actuator 572 may be driven by a servo motor 570M; in another embodiment, the actuator 572 may be driven by a hydraulic or other electric motor; and in yet another embodiment, the actuator may be driven by a servo motor when retracted and by a hydraulic or other electric motor when extended, where the rotational movement of the lateral transport unit 510 toward the biasing support unit 520 toward direction 597 is less precise than the rotational movement of the lateral transport unit 510 toward the opposite rotational direction 596. The surface 513BS of the movable platform 513 (such as the surface 513BS of the belt conveyor 513B) forms a reference surface (e.g., case transport / support surface) 590 when the lateral transport unit 510 is in the retracted position as shown in Figures 5A and 5E.The biasing member 571 is configured to substantially prevent overloading of the actuator 572 (for example, exceeding its working capacity). For example, the biasing member 571 may include an air spring, a coil spring, or other suitable energy absorber that can assist and / or dampen the operation of the lateral transport unit 510 to substantially prevent overloading of the actuator.

[0038] The biasing support section 520 is movably connected to the frame 501 and is positioned adjacent to or opposite the lateral transport section 501 so as to move relative to the frame 501 facing the lateral transport section 510. The biasing support section 520 includes a support / pressing surface 520S configured to support the case unit 585 in a first orientation 1000 (Figure 6B) with respect to a reference plane 590. For example, the biasing support section 520 is configured so that the case unit 585, identified as a re-oriented case unit 587 by the case unit inspection cell 142, can be positioned on the biasing support section 520 by any suitable method, such as by a palletizing / depalletizing robot, a pressing arm, etc., where the seating surface 587SS (Figure 6E) of the re-oriented case unit 587 is engaged and seated on the support surface 520S. For example, the reorientation case units 587 may be pressed or removed and positioned by robots 322, 422, or transported by any other suitable method that positions each reorientation case unit 587 on the case orientation system 500. Each orientation case unit 587 may be pressed from the lateral transport unit 510 to the biasing support unit 520 along a branching path (e.g., effect set Δ for linear and lateral movement, yaw θ rotation (see Figures 3B and 6A)) so that it is positioned for reorientation (i.e., the case orientation system 500 is within the space envelope 650 of robots 322, 422 such that the lateral transport unit 510 and the biasing support unit 520 are within reach of the robot arms). As described above, the reorientation operation is substantially within the processing time of the case flow (without substantially interrupting the flow of non-reorientation cases passing through the case orientation system 500). As shown in Figures 5A and 5E, the support surface 520S may be coplanar with the reference plane 590 when the biasing support portion 520 is in a contracted position.The movable platform 513 and biasing support section 520 of the lateral movement transport section 510 are configured to form a common case support surface 590C, which forms at least a portion of the reference reference surface 590 of the frame 501 so that a reorienting case unit 587 supported by the case orientation system 500 can be pressed between the biasing support section 520 and the lateral movement support section 510 (by robots 322, 422, etc.) (see Figures 5A and 5E).

[0039] In one embodiment, any suitable biasing support movement system 575 may be connected to both the frame 501 and the lateral movement frame 512. The biasing support movement system 575 is configured to bring about independently controlled movement of the biasing support 520. In one embodiment, the biasing support movement system 575 is configured to move the biasing support 520 relative to the lateral movement transport unit 510 such that the orientation of the reorienting case unit 587 changes from a first orientation 1000 to a second different orientation 2000 (i.e., rotates by 90°). For example, with the seating surface 587SS seated on the biasing support 520, the reorienting case unit 587 is rotated so that it transitions to the lateral movement transport unit 510. Once transferred to the lateral transport unit 510, the biasing surface 587BS of the reorienting case unit 587 sits against the movable platform 513 of the lateral transport unit 510 in a second different orientation 2000, and the seating surface 587SS of the reorienting case unit 587 is released from contact with the biasing support unit 520. In one embodiment, the reorientation of the reorienting case unit 587 may occur when the case unit 587 is moving in the lateral transport direction 594 with the biasing surface 587BS seated on the movable platform 513. On the other hand, in another embodiment, the reorientation of the reorienting case unit 587 may occur when the case unit 587 is stopped and the biasing surface 587BS is seated on the movable platform 513.

[0040] In one embodiment, the biasing support unit movement system 575 is a rotation system including at least one actuator 576 to rotate the biasing support unit 520 in directions 596, 597 so as to rotate the biasing support unit 520 around the plate rotation axis 521 toward (and toward) the lateral movement conveying unit 510. In another embodiment, one or more actuators may be provided to separately control the extension and retraction of the biasing support unit 520 so as to controllably rotate the biasing support unit 520 in both directions 569, 567 around the plate rotation axis 521 (for example, an extension and retraction actuator as described above). The (multiple) actuators 576 may be linear actuators or any other suitable actuators and may be driven by a servo motor or any other suitable motor, respectively. The lateral movement rotation axis 511 and the plate rotation axis 521 each extend along the lateral movement axis 595. In other embodiments, one or more of the lateral movement rotation axis 511 and the plate rotation axis 521 may extend in the direction of lateral movement toward the lateral movement axis 595. In one embodiment, the lateral movement rotation axis 511 and the plate rotation axis 521 are collinear. On the other hand, in other embodiments, the lateral movement rotation axis 511 and the plate rotation axis 521 may be spatially offset from each other.

[0041] In one embodiment, the biasing support 520 is spaced apart from the movable platform 513 so as to form a gap 533 between the biasing support 520 and the movable platform 513. The lateral movement rotation axis 511 and the plate rotation axis 521 may be located within the gap 533 (for example, between the lateral movement transport 510 and the biasing support 520) to allow one of the lateral movement transport 510 and the biasing support 520 to rotate freely and independently of the other of the lateral movement transport 510 and the biasing support 520 with substantially no interference. In another embodiment, the lateral movement transport 510 and the biasing support 520 may have any appropriate spatial relationship and any appropriate configuration to each other to allow one of the lateral movement transport 510 and the biasing support 520 to rotate freely and independently of the other of the lateral movement transport 510 and the biasing support 520 with substantially no interference.

[0042] In one embodiment, the case orientation system 500 includes a flexible support web 545 positioned within the gap 533 and connected to both the biasing support section 520 and the lateral transport section 510, so as to form a lateral transport surface extending along a substantially common case support surface 590C. The flexible support web 545 may also form a mounting surface on which the reorienting case unit 587 moves laterally for movement between the biasing support section 520 and the movable platform 513. As can be seen in Figures 5D and 5E, the flexible support web 545 may be made of any suitable material (e.g., mat-top conveyor material), and the flexible support web 545 is configured to bend / overlap in the space between the biasing support section 520 and the plate rotation support section 510, such as when the biasing support section 520 and the lateral transport section 510 rotate toward each other around their respective lateral rotation axis 511 and plate rotation axis 521.

[0043] Referring to Figures 1, 5A, 6A-6F, and 7, an exemplary operation of the case orientation system 500 is described. In one embodiment, a fulfillment order is received, for example, from a retail store for the replenishment of case units (the exemplary operation is described for a fulfillment order (i.e., shipment), but the operation is substantially similar to the receiving and storage of cases (i.e., inbound)). The control device 199C of the warehouse system 100WS determines a case unit shipment plan to fulfill the order. The ordered case units 585 are identified and registered in any appropriate manner for transfer to the outbound case conveyor 150B. For example, the ordered case units 585 may be identified by the control device 199C for retrieval from the storage structure 130 of the storage and retrieval system 100. These identified case units 585 (i.e., the largest case size to be accepted) may be communicated from the control device 199C to one or more bots 110 so that one or more bots 110 collect the identified case units 585 and transport the identified case units 585 to the outbound case conveyor 150B. Once the identified case units 585 arrive at the outbound case conveyor 150B, they are positioned (manually or automatically) on the outbound case conveyor 150B along the lateral movement axis 595 to be transported to the palletizer cell 10B. On the outbound case conveyor 150, identified case units 585 pass through a case unit inspection cell 142, which is communicably connected to, for example, a control device 199C, where a sensor 320 images and characterizes each passing case unit (e.g., size, orientation, etc., as described above) and calculates the coordinates and orientation of the case unit in a reference frame (e.g., coordinate system) known to the robot manipulator 14. The case unit inspection cell 142 identifies each case unit as either a passing case unit 586 (i.e., one that avoids reorientation) or a reorienting case unit 587.Once a case unit is identified as a passing case unit 586, the case unit continues to be transported to the palletizer cell 10B along the lateral movement axis 595 of the shipping conveyor 325 (including the lateral movement transport section 510 of the case orientation system 500) (Figure 7, block 7001). In the palletizer cell 10B, the case unit is transferred to a pallet by the robotic manipulator 14 (Figure 7, block 7002).

[0044] When a case unit is flagged as a re-orienting case unit 587 by the case unit inspection cell 142, the control device 199C transmits the information to, for example, the palletizer control device 464 (as described above, the palletizer control device 464 may be part of or form part of the control device 199C, or may be a separate control device). As described above, the case orientation system 500 is positioned in conjunction with the outbound case conveyor 150a (and lateral movement axis 596) to result in the re-orientation of the case unit 585 identified as a re-orienting case unit 587 by the case unit inspection cell 142. The case orientation system 500 re-orients the case unit 587 according to a predetermined case unit shipping plan. The palletizer control device 464 instructs the robot manipulator 14 (as described above) to transport the re-orienting case unit 587 on the biasing support 520 of the case orientation system 500. Based on the features identified by the case unit inspection cell 142, the robot manipulator 14 uses the end of its arm tool to remove (e.g., grasp) the case unit 587 from the shipping conveyor 325 or press the case unit 587, positioning the case unit 587 on the biasing support 587 such that the seating surface 587SS of the case unit 587 contacts and seats against the biasing support 520, supporting the case unit 587 in the first orientation 1000 (Figure 6A) (i.e., each reorienting case unit 587 is moved along a branching path (e.g., a linear and lateral effective direction Δ, yaw θ rotation from the lateral transport section 510 to the biasing support 520 so that it can be positioned for reorientation) (Figure 7, block 7010). With the case unit positioned on the biasing support section 520, the conveyor rotation system 570 and the biasing support section movement system 575 are driven to reorient the case unit 587 with independently controlled movements (i.e., the case unit 587 is stably supported during transport between the biasing support section 520 and the lateral transport section 510 so that the reorienting case unit 587 is substantially supported during transport).As described above, the reorientation operation is performed substantially within the processing time of the case flow (without substantially interrupting the flow of non-reoriented cases passing through the case orientation system 500). For example, the actuator 572 that controls the rotational movement of the lateral transport unit 510 is driven to rotate the lateral transport unit 510 toward the biasing support unit 520 around the lateral rotation axis 511 in direction 597 (see Figure 6C). In one embodiment, the lateral transport unit 510 is rotated at approximately 60° with respect to the common case support surface 590C, or at another suitable angle.

[0045] In one embodiment, the biasing support unit movement system 575 is a rotational system, and an actuator 576 controlling the rotational movement of the biasing support unit 520 is driven substantially simultaneously with actuator 572 to rotate the biasing support unit 520 (together with the case unit 587 above it) around the plate rotation axis 521 toward the lateral transport unit 510 in direction 596. In another embodiment, actuator 576 is driven when actuator 572 reaches its maximum rotation point (e.g., about 60°). When the case unit 587 contacts the lateral transport unit 510, actuator 572 stops moving so that the lateral transport unit stops rotating in direction 597 (e.g., when the lateral transport unit 510 and the biasing support unit 520 are perpendicular to each other (about 90°)) (Figure 6D). In one embodiment, in order to return the lateral transport unit 510 to its original position so as to reorient the case unit by 90°, the lateral transport unit 510 and the biasing support unit 520 rotate in direction 596 with respect to the common case support surface 590C of the case orientation system 500 (Figure 6E) as units in a right-angle position (Figure 7, block 7011). In this embodiment, the biasing support unit 520 results in the transfer of the case unit 587 from the biasing support unit 520 to the lateral transport unit 510. The reference plane 590 positions and aligns the case unit 587 so that it aligns on the outgoing case conveyor 150B for downstream transport of the case unit 587 (i.e., the case unit does not extend beyond the edges 513LE1, 513LE2 that form the edge of the reference plane 590 of the conveyor, and the reoriented case unit 587 is aligned with the passing case unit 586 which aligns with the lateral movement axis 595 that defines the lateral movement direction 598 of the ingoing-outgoing case conveyor 150 which substantially coincides with the reoriented operation, so no further alignment of the reoriented case unit 587 is performed so that the reoriented case unit 587 aligns with the lateral movement axis 595 after reoriented) (Figure 7, block 7012). In another embodiment, the biasing support 520 returns to its original position when the case unit 587 is transported to the lateral transport unit 510, so as not to follow the lateral transport unit 510 back to its original position.Once the case unit 587 is reoriented, it is freely transported to the palletizer cell 10B (Figure 7, block 7013).

[0046] As described above, in order for the palletizer cell 10B to receive case units from the automated storage and retrieval system 100 for placement on pallets according to the case unit shipping plan determined by the control device 199C, the palletizer cell 10B communicates with the outbound case conveyor 150B. The case units reach the palletizer cell 10B via the inbound / outbound case conveyor 150B, are retrieved by the robotic case manipulator 14, and are sequentially placed on pallets to construct a pallet load according to the case unit shipping plan.

[0047] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a case orientation system is provided. The case orientation system includes a frame having a reference plane, and a lateral transport unit rotatably connected to the frame about a lateral rotation axis, the lateral transport unit including a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the case lateral movement direction along the lateral rotation axis, the substantially continuous movable platform rotating about the lateral rotation axis so as to orient the case lateral movement direction to another lateral movement direction, and a biasing support unit positioned adjacent to and opposite the lateral transport unit and movably connected to the frame so as to move relative to the frame opposite the lateral transport unit. A biasing support includes a biasing support configured to abut and seat against the seating surface of at least one case in a first orientation with respect to a reference plane to support at least one case, wherein the substantially continuous movable platform and the biasing support are configured to move relative to each other so that the biasing surface of at least one case seats against the substantially continuous movable platform in another direction of lateral movement, and so that the seating surface of at least one case abuts against an inclined support so that the orientation of at least one case changes from a first orientation to a second different orientation in order to release the abutment of the biasing support.

[0048] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the biasing support is a support rotation axis, and the lateral movement conveying unit and the biasing support rotate around the support rotation axis, with the lateral movement conveying unit and the biasing support rotating toward each other around one of the lateral movement rotation axis and the support rotation axis, respectively.

[0049] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one case supported on a biasing support is stably transported to a substantially continuous movable platform.

[0050] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform defines a reference plane, and at least one case is pre-positioned with respect to the reference plane by a biasing support such that when the case is oriented in a direction different from another direction, the at least one case is positioned in a lateral movement direction substantially coinciding with the lateral movement axis, when the case is oriented in a direction different from another direction, the substantially continuous movable platform is positioned with respect to the reference plane with respect to the lateral movement axis, with respect to the lateral movement axis.

[0051] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous area of ​​the movable platform is formed in a shape and size that substantially conforms to the area of ​​the biasing surface of the largest of the at least one cases to be received in the case orientation system.

[0052] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform has a width of about 30 inches.

[0053] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the biasing support is spaced away from a substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the biasing support and a substantially continuous movable platform, and the case orientation system further comprises a flexible support web positioned within the gap and connected to both the biasing support and the lateral movement transport.

[0054] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of lateral edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, and a biasing support extends between the plurality of lateral edges to result in the transfer of at least one case from the biasing support to the substantially continuous movable platform.

[0055] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the biasing support portion is positioned on a substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from at least one of a plurality of side edges, with at least one case positioned at that distance.

[0056] According to one or more aspects of this disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a belt conveyor.

[0057] A method is provided according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The method includes providing a frame having a reference plane; providing a lateral transport unit rotatably connected to the frame about a lateral rotation axis, wherein the lateral transport unit includes a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the case lateral movement direction along the lateral movement axis, and the substantially continuous movable platform rotates about the lateral rotation axis such that the case lateral movement direction is oriented to another lateral movement direction; and providing a biasing support unit positioned adjacent to and opposite to the lateral transport unit and movably connected to the frame so as to move relative to the frame opposite to the lateral transport unit. The steps include providing a biasing support configured to abut and seat against a seating surface of at least one case in a first orientation with respect to a reference plane to support at least one case, and moving a substantially continuous movable platform and a biasing support relative to each other so that the biasing surface of at least one case seats against a substantially continuous movable platform in another lateral movement direction, and the orientation of at least one case changes from a first orientation to a second different orientation in order to release the seating surface of at least one case from the biasing support.

[0058] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a case orientation system is provided. The case orientation system includes a frame having a reference plane, a lateral movement portion rotatably connected to the frame about a lateral movement axis, the lateral movement portion including a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the lateral movement direction, the substantially continuous movable platform rotating about the lateral movement axis, and a support plate positioned adjacent to the lateral movement portion and connected to the frame about a plate rotation axis, the support plate configured to support at least one case in a first orientation with respect to the reference plane, the substantially continuous movable platform and support The plate is configured to rotate toward each other about one of the lateral movement axis and the plate rotation axis so that at least one case supported on the support plate in a first orientation can be stably transported to a substantially continuous movable platform, and the substantially continuous movable platform and the support plate are configured to rotate toward each other about one of the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis so that they can be transported from the support plate to the substantially continuous movable platform, and the at least one case supported on the substantially continuous movable platform has a second orientation different from the first orientation with respect to a reference plane.

[0059] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, substantially continuous movable platforms and support plates are configured to rotate away from each other about one of the lateral movement axis and plate rotation axis, respectively, so as to form a common case support surface, the common case support surface forming a reference plane of the frame.

[0060] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the support plate is spaced away from a substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the support plate and a substantially continuous movable platform, and the case orientation system further comprises a flexible support web positioned within the gap and connected to both the support plate and the lateral movement portion.

[0061] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the lateral movement rotation axis and the plate rotation axis are coaxial and extend along the direction of lateral movement (each axis extends along the direction of lateral movement).

[0062] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of lateral edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, and a support plate extends between the plurality of lateral edges to result in the transfer of at least one case from the support plate to the substantially continuous movable platform.

[0063] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the support plate is positioned on a substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from at least one of a plurality of side edges.

[0064] According to one or more aspects of this disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a belt conveyor.

[0065] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the case orientation system further includes a lateral rotation actuator connected to both a frame and a lateral movement section, wherein the lateral rotation actuator is configured to rotate the lateral movement section around a lateral rotation axis, and a separate plate rotation actuator separated from the lateral rotation actuator, wherein the plate rotation actuator is connected to both a frame and a support plate, wherein the plate rotation actuator rotates the support plate around a plate rotation axis.

[0066] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the case orientation system has a longitudinal length of about 30 inches (about 740 mm) in the direction of lateral movement.

[0067] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a storage and retrieval system is provided. The storage and retrieval system includes a multilevel storage structure, a case handling cell connected to the multilevel storage structure, the case handling cell being a conveyor communicatively connected to the multilevel storage structure, the conveyor having a case support surface configured to bring about the transfer of at least one case between the multilevel storage structure and the case handling cell, and a lateral movement section including a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the lateral movement direction between the case orientation system and the conveyor, the substantially continuous movable platform being configured to rotate around a lateral movement rotation axis relative to the case support surface of the conveyor, and lateral movement A case operating cell includes a case orientation system, which includes a support plate positioned adjacent to a section, the support plate being rotatable about a plate rotation axis and configured to support at least one case in a first orientation with respect to the case support surface of the conveyor, wherein the substantially continuous movable platform and support plate are configured to rotate toward each other about one of each of the lateral movement rotation axis and plate rotation axis, such that at least one case supported on the support plate in a first orientation is stably transported to the substantially continuous movable platform, and the at least one case supported on the substantially continuous movable platform has a second orientation different from the first orientation with respect to the case support surface of the conveyor.

[0068] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the storage and retrieval system further includes a case unit inspection cell configured to detect a case among at least one case that exceeds a predetermined height relative to a conveyor support surface.

[0069] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the storage and retrieval system further includes a case handling robot configured to position at least one of a plurality of cases, exceeding a predetermined height, on a support plate for reorientation.

[0070] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the storage and retrieval system further includes a case handling robot configured to position at least one other case, which is within a predetermined height, on a lateral movement section for transfer to a conveyor.

[0071] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, substantially continuous movable platforms and support plates are configured to rotate away from each other about one of the lateral movement axis and the plate rotation axis, respectively, so as to form a portion of the case support surface.

[0072] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the support plate is spaced away from a substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform, and the case orientation system further comprises a flexible support web positioned within the gap and connected to both the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform.

[0073] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the lateral movement rotation axis and the plate rotation axis are coaxial and extend along the direction of lateral movement (each axis extends along the direction of lateral movement).

[0074] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of lateral edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, and a support plate extends between the plurality of lateral edges to result in the transfer of at least one case from the support plate to the substantially continuous movable platform.

[0075] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the support plate is positioned on a substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from at least one of a plurality of side edges.

[0076] According to one or more aspects of this disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a belt conveyor.

[0077] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the storage and retrieval system further includes a lateral rotation actuator connected to both a frame and a lateral movement section, the lateral rotation actuator being configured to rotate the lateral movement section around a lateral rotation axis, and a separate plate rotation actuator separated from the lateral rotation actuator, the plate rotation actuator being connected to both a frame and a support plate, the plate rotation actuator being configured to rotate the support plate around a plate rotation axis.

[0078] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the case orientation system has a longitudinal length of about 30 inches (about 740 mm) in the direction of lateral movement.

[0079] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an automated case orientation method is provided. The method includes the steps of: providing a frame having a reference plane; a lateral movement unit rotatably connected to the frame about a lateral movement rotation axis; a support plate positioned adjacent to the lateral movement unit and connected to the frame about a plate rotation axis; positioning a case supported by the support plate on the support plate in a first orientation with respect to the reference plane; and rotating a substantially continuous movable platform of the lateral movement unit and the support plate toward each other so that at least one case supported on the support plate in the first orientation is stably transported to a substantially continuous movable platform, wherein the at least one case supported on the substantially continuous movable platform has a second orientation different from the first orientation with respect to the reference plane of the conveyor.

[0080] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the steps further include rotating substantially continuous movable platforms and support plates away from each other around one of the lateral movement axis and plate rotation axis, respectively, so as to form a common case support surface, the common case support surface forming a reference plane of the frame.

[0081] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the support plate is spaced away from a substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform, and the method further includes the step of providing a flexible support web that is positioned within the gap and connected to both the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform.

[0082] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the lateral movement rotation axis and the plate rotation axis are coaxial and extend along the direction of lateral movement (each axis extends along the direction of lateral movement).

[0083] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of lateral edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, and the method further includes the step of extending a support plate between the plurality of lateral edges to result in the transfer of at least one case from a support plate to a substantially continuous movable platform.

[0084] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the step of positioning at least one case on a substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from at least one of a plurality of side edges by a support plate is further included.

[0085] According to one or more aspects of this disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a belt conveyor.

[0086] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the steps include: rotating a lateral movement about a lateral movement axis using a lateral movement rotary actuator connected to both the frame and the lateral movement; and rotating a support plate about a plate rotation axis using a separate plate rotation actuator, which is separated from the lateral movement rotary actuator and connected to both the frame and the support plate.

[0087] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the case orientation system has a longitudinal length of about 30 inches (about 740 mm) in the direction of lateral movement.

[0088] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an automated case orientation method is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a multilevel storage structure for storage and retrieval systems; a case handling cell connected to the multilevel storage structure, comprising a conveyor communicatively connected to the multilevel storage structure; and a case orientation system connected to the conveyor, comprising a lateral movement section including a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in a lateral movement direction between the case orientation system and the conveyor; and a support plate positioned adjacent to the lateral movement section and configured to support at least one case in a first orientation with respect to the case support surface of the conveyor. The process includes the steps of providing a case handling cell, causing a conveyor to transfer at least one case between a multi-level storage structure and a case handling cell, and rotating a substantially continuous movable platform and a support plate toward each other about one of a lateral movement axis and a plate rotation axis, respectively, so that at least one case supported on a support plate in a first orientation is stably transferred to a substantially continuous movable platform, wherein the at least one case supported on the substantially continuous movable platform has a second orientation different from the first orientation with respect to the case support surface of the conveyor.

[0089] D2 According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the case unit inspection cell further includes the step of detecting at least one of the cases that exceeds a predetermined height relative to the conveyor support surface.

[0090] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the further step includes positioning at least one of a plurality of cases, which is above a predetermined height, on a support plate using a case manipulation robot for reorientation.

[0091] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the further step includes positioning at least one other case, which is within a predetermined height, on a lateral movement section for transport to a conveyor by a case handling robot.

[0092] D5 According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the step further includes rotating a substantially continuous movable platform and support plate so as to move away from each other around one of the lateral movement axis and the plate rotation axis, respectively, so as to form a portion of the case support surface.

[0093] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the support plate is spaced away from a substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform, and the method further includes the step of providing a flexible support web that is positioned within the gap and connected to both the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform.

[0094] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the lateral movement rotation axis and the plate rotation axis are coaxial and extend along the direction of lateral movement (each axis extends along the aforementioned direction of lateral movement).

[0095] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of lateral edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, and the method further includes the step of extending a support plate between the plurality of lateral edges to result in the transfer of at least one case from a support plate to a substantially continuous movable platform.

[0096] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the step of positioning at least one case on a substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from at least one of a plurality of side edges by a support plate is further included.

[0097] According to one or more aspects of this disclosure, a substantially continuous movable platform comprises a belt conveyor.

[0098] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the steps include: rotating a lateral movement about a lateral movement axis using a lateral movement rotary actuator connected to both the frame and the lateral movement; and rotating a support plate about a plate rotation axis using a separate plate rotation actuator, which is separated from the lateral movement rotary actuator and connected to both the frame and the support plate.

[0099] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, the case orientation system has a longitudinal length of about 30 inches (about 740 mm) in the direction of lateral movement.

[0100] It should be understood that the foregoing descriptions are merely illustrative of the embodiments of this disclosure. Various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the embodiments of this disclosure. Accordingly, embodiments of this disclosure are intended to include all such changes, modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, the mere fact that different features are described in different dependent or independent claims does not imply that combinations of these features cannot be advantageously used to remain within the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A case orientation system, A frame having a reference plane, A lateral transport unit rotatably connected to the frame around a lateral movement axis, the lateral transport unit includes a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the case lateral movement direction along the lateral movement axis, the substantially continuous movable platform rotates around the lateral movement axis such that the case lateral movement direction is oriented to another lateral movement direction, A biasing support portion is positioned adjacent to and opposite the lateral transport portion and is movably connected to the frame so as to move relative to the frame opposite the lateral transport portion, wherein the biasing support portion is configured to abut and seat against the seating surface of the at least one case in a first orientation with respect to the reference plane in order to support the at least one case. Equipped with, The substantially continuous movable platform and the biasing support are configured to move relative to each other such that the biasing surface of the at least one case is seated against the substantially continuous movable platform in the other lateral movement direction, and the at least one case is brought into contact with the inclined support so that the orientation of the at least one case changes from the first orientation to a second different orientation in order to release the seating surface of the at least one case from the biasing support. Case orientation system.

2. The biasing support unit rotates around the support rotation axis such that the lateral movement conveying unit and the biasing support unit rotate toward each other around one of the lateral movement rotation axis and the support rotation axis. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

3. The at least one case supported on the biasing support is stably transported to the substantially continuous movable platform. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

4. The substantially continuous movable platform defines a reference plane, The at least one case is pre-positioned with respect to the reference plane by the biasing support so that when the at least one case is positioned on the substantially continuous movable platform with the at least one case being moved thereon, and when the case is oriented in a direction different from the other direction so as to align with the lateral movement axis, the at least one case is positioned in the lateral movement direction substantially coinciding with the lateral movement axis. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

5. The substantially continuous movable platform region is formed to a shape and size that substantially conforms to the biasing surface region of the largest of the at least one cases to be received by the case orientation system. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

6. The substantially continuous movable platform has a width of approximately 30 inches. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

7. The biasing support portion is spaced apart from the substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the biasing support portion and the substantially continuous movable platform. The case orientation system further comprises a flexible support web, which is positioned within the gap and connected to both the biasing support and the lateral movement conveying section. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

8. The substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of side edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, The biasing support portion extends between the plurality of side edges to bring about the transfer of the at least one case from the biasing support portion to the substantially continuous movable platform, The case orientation system according to claim 1.

9. The biasing support portion positions the at least one case on the substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from one of the plurality of side edges. The case orientation system according to claim 8.

10. The substantially continuous movable platform is equipped with a belt conveyor. The case orientation system according to claim 1.

11. The steps include providing a frame having a reference plane, A step of providing a lateral transport unit rotatably connected to the frame about a lateral movement rotation axis, wherein the lateral transport unit includes a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the case lateral movement direction along the lateral movement axis, and the substantially continuous movable platform rotates about the lateral movement rotation axis such that the case lateral movement direction is oriented to another lateral movement direction. A step of providing a biasing support portion which is arranged adjacent to and opposite to the lateral transport portion and is movably connected to the frame so as to move relative to the frame opposite to the lateral transport portion, wherein the biasing support portion is configured to abut and seat against the seating surface of the at least one case in a first orientation with respect to the reference plane in order to support the at least one case, The steps include moving the substantially continuous movable platform and the biasing support relative to each other so that the biasing surface of the at least one case is seated against the substantially continuous movable platform in the other lateral movement direction, and so that the orientation of the at least one case changes from the first orientation to a second different orientation in order to release the seating surface of the at least one case from the biasing support, and bringing the at least one case into contact with the inclined support; Methods that include...

12. The biasing support unit rotates around the support rotation axis such that the lateral movement conveying unit and the biasing support unit rotate toward each other around one of the lateral movement rotation axis and the support rotation axis. The method according to claim 11.

13. The step further includes stably transferring the at least one case supported on the biasing support to the substantially continuous movable platform, The method according to claim 11.

14. The substantially continuous movable platform defines a reference plane, The method further includes the step of pre-positioning the at least one case with respect to the reference plane by the biasing support such that the at least one case is positioned in the lateral movement direction substantially coinciding with the lateral movement axis when the at least one case is positioned on the substantially continuous movable platform with the at least one case being transported thereon and the case is oriented in a direction different from the other direction so as to align with the lateral movement axis. The method according to claim 11.

15. The substantially continuous movable platform has a width of approximately 30 inches. The method according to claim 11.

16. The substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of side edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, The biasing support portion extends between the plurality of side edges to bring about the transfer of the at least one case from the biasing support portion to the substantially continuous movable platform, The method according to claim 11.

17. The biasing support portion positions the at least one case on the substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from one of the plurality of side edges. The method according to claim 16.

18. The substantially continuous movable platform is equipped with a belt conveyor. The method according to claim 11.

19. A case orientation system, A frame having a reference plane, A lateral movement unit rotatably connected to the frame around a lateral movement axis, the lateral movement unit includes a substantially continuous movable platform configured to support and transport at least one case in the lateral movement direction, the substantially continuous movable platform rotates around the lateral movement axis, A support plate positioned adjacent to the lateral movement portion and connected to the frame around the plate rotation axis, wherein the support plate is configured to support the at least one case in a first orientation with respect to the reference plane. Equipped with, The substantially continuous movable platform and the support plate are configured to rotate toward each other about one of the lateral movement axis and the plate rotation axis, respectively, so that the at least one case supported on the support plate in the first orientation is stably transported to the substantially continuous movable platform. The substantially continuous movable platform and the support plate are configured to rotate relative to each other about one of the first and second rotation axes so as to stably hold and transfer support of the at least one case from the support plate to the substantially continuous movable platform, and the at least one case supported on the substantially continuous movable platform has a second orientation different from the first orientation with respect to the reference plane. Case orientation system.

20. The substantially continuous movable platform and the support plate are configured to rotate away from each other around one of the lateral movement axis and the plate rotation axis, respectively, to form a common case support surface. The common case support surface forms the reference surface of the frame. The case orientation system according to claim 19.

21. The support plate is spaced apart from the substantially continuous movable platform so as to form a gap between the support plate and the substantially continuous movable platform. The case orientation system further comprises a flexible support web positioned within the gap and connected to both the support plate and the lateral movement portion. The case orientation system according to claim 19.

22. The lateral movement rotation axis and the plate rotation axis are coaxial and extend along the lateral movement direction. The case orientation system according to claim 19.

23. The substantially continuous movable platform comprises a plurality of side edges extending in the direction of lateral movement, The support plate extends between the plurality of side edges to allow for the transfer of the at least one case from the support plate to the substantially continuous movable platform. The case orientation system according to claim 19.

24. The support plate is positioned at least one case on the substantially continuous movable platform at a predetermined distance from one of the plurality of side edges. The case orientation system according to claim 23.

25. The substantially continuous movable platform is equipped with a belt conveyor. The case orientation system according to claim 19.

26. A lateral movement rotation actuator connected to both the frame and the lateral movement section, wherein the lateral movement rotation actuator is configured to rotate the lateral movement section around the lateral movement rotation axis, A separate plate rotation actuator, separated from the lateral movement rotation actuator, wherein the plate rotation actuator is connected to both the frame and the support plate, and the plate rotation actuator rotates the support plate around the plate rotation axis. The case orientation system according to claim 19, further comprising:

27. The case orientation system has a longitudinal length of approximately 30 inches in the lateral movement direction. The case orientation system according to claim 19.

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