Automated warehouse provided with refrigerators
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automated warehouses face challenges in managing temperature flexibility, energy consumption, and operational complexity when storing articles requiring different preservation temperatures, with existing solutions requiring significant investment and complex maintenance.
Innovation Solution
An automated warehouse system with modular refrigerators integrated into loading units, allowing independent temperature control and monitoring through a centralized control device, enabling flexible configuration and efficient energy use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the warehouse has one single inner refrigerated area, then the structure is simple and insulation investment is reduced, but the flexibility in managing product preservation temperatures is scarce
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the warehouse into multiple independently controllable refrigerated areas with different temperature settings. Each area can be managed separately, allowing flexible temperature control for different product types while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different zones within the warehouse are assigned different temperature characteristics according to the specific storage needs of products in each zone. This allows local optimization of temperature management without requiring the entire warehouse to be complex.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the warehouse has several inner refrigerated areas at different temperature, then temperature flexibility is improved, but insulation investment and energy consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the refrigerated space into distinct areas, each with its own temperature control, the system can optimize energy consumption by conditioning only the necessary volumes at required temperatures rather than cooling entire corridors or transition zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate zones or buffer areas between refrigerated zones at different temperatures. These intermediary spaces help reduce thermal bridging and minimize the energy required to maintain temperature differentials between adjacent refrigerated areas.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the warehouse has several inner refrigerated areas at different temperature, then temperature flexibility is improved, but condensate forms in border zones and temperature control becomes unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
Intermediary zones are introduced between refrigerated areas at different temperatures to act as thermal buffers. These intermediate spaces prevent direct thermal contact between zones with different temperature sets, thereby reducing condensation formation at borders and improving the reliability of temperature control in each zone.
4Adaptability or versatility
If cooling units are integrated in the loading units, then temperature control is flexible, but maintenance and replacement operations become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into modular units that can be independently accessed, removed, and replaced. This modular architecture allows maintenance personnel to service individual cooling units without disrupting the entire warehouse system, significantly simplifying maintenance operations while preserving temperature control flexibility.
5Adaptability or versatility
If cooling units are integrated in the loading units, then temperature control is flexible, but the number of cooling units cannot be easily changed
Solution Approach 1:
The system is designed with dynamic configurability, allowing the number and distribution of cooling units to be adjusted based on changing storage requirements. Modular cooling units can be added, removed, or relocated without requiring structural modifications to the warehouse or loading units, enabling easy reconfiguration while maintaining temperature control flexibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides high flexibility in managing different preservation temperatures, reduces energy consumption, and simplifies maintenance by allowing easy addition or removal of refrigeration units, while maintaining precise temperature control and minimizing operational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
each powered, namely is provided with electrical connections to power and/or transmit electrical energy to user devices carried by the loading units (35), said user devices being defined by refrigerators (35), each comprising a container (36) having at least one compartment (37) for containing articles (38) to be preserved at a given temperature, below room temperature
Data Source
AI summary
An automated warehouse has a plurality of loading units designed to carry respective articles accommodated in respective storage stations and transferred by a movement device to at least one picking/depositing station, which can be accessed, at least under given operating conditions, in order to retrieve/deposit the articles. At least two loading units are provided with respective refrigerators which communicate with a remote control device to send operating data and/or receive command signals. The loading units transporting the refrigerators are distinct from the latter, are powered to be supplied by an electrical network of the warehouse when they are arranged in corresponding storage stations, and are electrically connected to the respective refrigerators.