Compartmentalized Transport Containers for Low-Volume Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The handling of returned items and other low-quantity products in storage systems is inefficient due to limited capacity and high costs per storage location, with existing solutions being time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially when products have varying sizes and expiration dates.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing transport containers with multiple compartments, a computer-controlled system for managing article placement and retrieval, and a conveyor system to optimize storage and picking, ensuring the oldest products are selected first while reducing labor and costs by consolidating and relocating items within the system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If returns are stored in mixed containers in dedicated returns warehouses, then the products can be easily reintroduced into the order picking process, but the capacity is limited and costs per storage location are high
Solution Approach 1:
The storage system is segmented into multiple compartments within each transport container, allowing individual articles to be stored separately while maintaining compact container structures. This segmentation enables efficient use of space and facilitates selective retrieval without requiring entire containers to be accessed.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple compartments are nested within transport containers, which themselves are stored in rack storage areas. This nested structure maximizes storage density by utilizing vertical and horizontal space efficiently, thereby increasing overall storage capacity without proportionally increasing costs per storage location.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a singulation device is provided for each storage location, then returns can be sorted and added to orders as needed, but the costs per storage location are high
Solution Approach 1:
The transport container with multiple compartments serves multiple functions: it acts as a storage unit, a sorting container, and a transport vehicle. The computer-controlled system provides universal adaptability by managing any article in any compartment, eliminating the need for dedicated singulation devices at each storage location while maintaining high versatility in sorting and order fulfillment.
Solution Approach 2:
The computer-controlled system acts as an intermediary between storage and order picking, managing the complex sorting logic centrally rather than requiring physical singulation devices at each location. This digital mediator reduces physical device complexity while maintaining adaptability through software-based article tracking and container management.
3Reliability
If manual warehouse methods are used to add returned goods to inventory, then every storage location has to be visited, but the process is very time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical process of visiting each storage location is replaced by an automated computer-controlled system that tracks articles through data processing. The system electronically records returned goods and automatically identifies appropriate storage containers, eliminating time-consuming physical inspections while ensuring complete inventory updates through systematic digital tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service inventory management where the computer automatically processes returned goods information, determines optimal storage locations, and manages container assignments without requiring manual intervention at each storage location. This automated self-service approach ensures complete inventory accuracy while minimizing time investment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a system (1) for storing and commissioning articles (2), comprising a processing station (10) for articles, at least one commissioning station (30, 30') for commissioning articles, and an intermediate store (40). Transport containers (20, 20') having compartments (21) each provided for receiving an article (2) are transported between the intermediate store (40) and the commissioning station (30, 30'). A computer device (100) links each article (2) to the corresponding transport container when placed in a compartment (21), and optionally to the position of the compartment of the transport container. When a commissioning order is placed, the computer device (100) checks whether or not an article to be commissioned is present in a compartment of a transport container (20, 20') present in the intermediate store, directs said transport container to the commissioning station (30, 30') where the article is removed from the compartment (21) in the transport container (20, 20') and is transferred to an order container (70) associated with the commissioning order