Buffer Units Decouple Lift and Ground Robots in Robotic Warehouses
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing robotic inventory handling systems require Lift Robots (LR) and Ground Robots (GR) to meet at a specific location for tote transfer, leading to inefficiencies due to computational resource waste and idle times, as well as a high dependency between the two systems, which affects overall facility efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of buffer units and short-height storage units allows for tote transfer between LR and GR without direct interaction, decoupling their dependency and enabling independent operation, with GRs capable of self-loading and unloading from these units, reducing the need for simultaneous presence and optimizing resource allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If Lift Robots and Ground Robots meet at a specific location for tote transfer, then tote transfer can be accomplished, but computational resources are wasted and idle times occur due to coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces buffer units as intermediary storage locations between Lift Robots and Ground Robots. Instead of requiring direct meeting and coordination between the two robot types, totes are transferred to buffer units where they can be picked up independently. This mediator eliminates the need for simultaneous presence and coordination, reducing idle time and computational overhead.
2Productivity
If Lift Robots and Ground Robots meet at a specific location for tote transfer, then tote transfer can be accomplished, but dependency between the two systems increases, affecting overall facility efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the tote transfer process into independent stages: Lift Robots transfer totes to buffer units, and Ground Robots independently retrieve totes from buffer units. This segmentation breaks the direct dependency between Lift Robots and Ground Robots, allowing each system to operate autonomously and reducing overall system complexity.
3Productivity
If multiple Lift Robots are deployed to handle high-volume transfers, then throughput can be maintained, but the number of robots required increases, reducing cost-effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
Buffer units serve as intermediary staging areas that decouple the transfer process, allowing Lift Robots to operate independently without waiting for Ground Robots. This eliminates idle time and maintains high throughput with fewer robots, improving cost-effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer units enable preliminary transfer of totes from Lift Robots before Ground Robots are ready to retrieve them. This preliminary action prevents waiting time and ensures continuous operation, maintaining high throughput with reduced robot inventory.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage facility having lift robots and ground robots cooperating in transferring of totes within the facility, is disclosed. The transferring of totes between ground robots and lift robots in the facility through buffer locations, allows the totes to be carried on top of the lift robots, which are thereby secured against unintentional dropping of the tote. The efficiency of the storage facility may be further improved in that the buffer locations, and in various embodiments also short height storage locations, which are accessible directly to ground robots, are utilized for storing totes that are ranked as associated with high prevalence to be transferred by ground robots, without the involvement of lift robots.