Delivery Vehicle Rail Layout for ASRS Column Congestion Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated storage and retrieval systems face congestion issues around delivery columns, leading to inefficiencies and reduced delivery capacity, and require costly infrastructure expansions.
Innovation Solution
An automated storage and retrieval system incorporating a remotely operated delivery vehicle with a container carrier that transports storage containers between a delivery port and a second location, utilizing a dedicated delivery rail system to bypass congestion and increase delivery capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional automated storage and retrieval system uses delivery columns for transporting storage containers, then the system can maintain a compact structure, but congestion occurs around delivery columns leading to reduced delivery capacity and efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the delivery function into two separate components: delivery columns for vertical transport and delivery vehicles for horizontal transport. This segmentation allows containers to be transferred from the vertical delivery columns to the horizontal delivery vehicle rail system, eliminating congestion around the delivery columns while maintaining compact structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery vehicle rail system acts as an intermediary between the storage grid and external locations. Delivery vehicles transport containers horizontally along the rail system, serving as a mediator that prevents direct congestion at delivery columns while enabling efficient container movement to and from external locations.
2Productivity
If the system expands infrastructure to increase delivery capacity, then delivery capacity improves, but the cost of infrastructure expansion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery vehicle rail system serves multiple functions: it transports containers horizontally, provides additional delivery capacity without expanding vertical infrastructure, and enables flexible routing to multiple external locations. This multi-functionality increases delivery capacity without requiring costly infrastructure expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from purely vertical container movement through delivery columns to include horizontal movement via the delivery vehicle rail system. This dimensional change allows the system to increase delivery capacity by utilizing horizontal space rather than expanding vertical infrastructure, reducing expansion costs.
3Device complexity
If delivery columns are used for all container transport, then the system structure remains simple, but the system cannot efficiently handle high-volume deliveries without congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The transport function is segmented into vertical delivery columns and horizontal delivery vehicles. This segmentation maintains structural simplicity of the delivery columns while adding efficient horizontal transport capability, thereby improving delivery efficiency without significantly complicating the overall system structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces dynamic delivery vehicles that can move along the rail system to transport containers to various external locations. This dynamic component complements the static delivery columns, improving delivery efficiency while maintaining the simple structural foundation of the original system.
Data Source
AI summary
An automated storage and retrieval system includes an automated storage and retrieval grid and a delivery system. The automated storage and retrieval grid includes a container handling vehicle rail system and a delivery column. The container handling vehicle rail system, which is for guiding a plurality of container handling vehicles, includes a first set of parallel rails arranged in a horizontal plane and extending in a first direction, and a second set of parallel rails arranged in the horizontal plane and extending in a second direction which is orthogonal to the first direction, which first and second sets of rails form a grid pattern in the horizontal plane including a plurality of adjacent container handling vehicle grid cells. Each container handling vehicle grid cell includes a container handling vehicle grid opening defined by a pair of neighboring rails of the first set of rails and a pair of neighboring rails of the second set of rails. The delivery column is adapted for transport of a storage container arranged in a stack of storage containers beneath the container handling vehicle rail system between a container handling vehicle and a delivery port situated at a lower end of the delivery column. The delivery system includes a remotely operated delivery vehicle. The remotely operated delivery vehicle includes a vehicle body, rolling devices connected to the vehicle body, rolling device motors for driving the rolling devices in a horizontal plane, and a power source connected to the rolling device motors. A container carrier is adapted to support the storage container. The delivery vehicle is further adapted to transport the storage container between a delivery port and a second location for handling of the storage container by at least one of a robotic operator and a human operator.