Container Buffer Handling for Faster Automated Storage Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fully and semi-automated storage and retrieval systems face inefficiencies in container handling, including increased wait times and resource contention, which affect productivity and throughput.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of buffer systems and mechanisms such as clamps, lifters, and overhead load handlers that allow for both top and bottom access to containers, optimizing container movement and reducing vertical movement of load handlers, thereby improving labor utilization and pick rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional single-direction (top-access) container handling is used, then system structure is simpler, but load handlers experience increased wait times and resource contention
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides container access into two independent directional streams: top-access and bottom-access. Overhead load handlers service top containers while clamp-and-lifter handlers service bottom containers, segmenting the previously unified access path and eliminating contention between different handling operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds vertical dimension utilization by implementing bottom-access capability alongside traditional top-access. Containers are arranged in stacks where both top and bottom surfaces are accessible, transforming single-direction access into multi-directional access and doubling the effective throughput capacity
2Productivity
If more load handlers are added to increase capacity, then system throughput increases, but system complexity and resource contention increase
Solution Approach 1:
The handling fleet is segmented into two specialized groups: overhead load handlers for top-access operations and clamp-and-lifter handlers for bottom-access operations. This segmentation allows each type to operate independently in its optimized domain, increasing overall capacity without adding cross-contamination or coordination complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Both overhead load handlers and clamp-and-lifter handlers are designed as multi-functional units that can service multiple stack locations and handle various container types. This universality allows the system to scale capacity by adding identical modular units rather than designing complex specialized equipment for each function
3Use of energy by moving object
If vertical movement of load handlers is reduced, then energy consumption decreases, but access frequency to drop-off and pick-up locations must increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates equipotential working conditions by positioning both top-access and bottom-access handling points at optimal heights for their respective handler types. Overhead handlers operate at elevated positions minimizing vertical travel, while clamp-and-lifter handlers operate from ground level, eliminating unnecessary vertical movement and energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The bottom-access clamp-and-lifter system acts as an intermediary that handles containers before they reach the overhead load handlers. By pre-positioning containers at the bottom access points, the system reduces the vertical travel distance that overhead handlers must cover, decreasing energy consumption while maintaining high access frequency
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems 250 methods 200, and machine-executable coded instruction sets for the fully- and/or partly automated handling of goods. In particular, the disclosure provides improvements in the storage and retrieval of containers in systems such as order processing systems.