Suspension Conveyor Order Buffer Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hen promotion systems face inefficiencies in picking individual items, leading to uneven conveyor system utilization and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A procedure that automates the picking of individual items from an article warehouse to an order intermediate memory, using transport bags and roller adapters, allowing for flexible and efficient item identification and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individual items are conveyed from the item warehouse to the order buffer in a single-item manner, then precise transfer of individual items is possible, but the overhead conveyor system is not evenly utilized and system productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the picking process into two distinct phases: (1) bulk conveyance of multiple transport pockets containing individual items from the item warehouse to the order buffer, and (2) subsequent sorting of these items at the order buffer. This segmentation allows the conveyor system to operate at full capacity during conveyance while the sorting operation occurs separately, resolving the contradiction between precise individual item handling and system utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by conveying and storing multiple individual items in the order buffer before the actual sorting and order assembly takes place. This preliminary bulk conveyance prepares the system for efficient order fulfillment, allowing the conveyor to maintain high utilization while the sorting operation proceeds separately at the order buffer.
2Reliability
If complex determination of analytical quantity is performed to transport items, then items can be transported from long-term warehouse to short-term warehouse, but the picking method becomes complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The order buffer serves as an intermediary between the item warehouse and the sorting unit. It receives bulk conveyance of transport pockets from the item warehouse and temporarily stores them before sorting. This intermediary simplifies the overall system by decoupling the conveyance operation from the sorting operation, eliminating the need for complex real-time analytical determination during transport while maintaining reliable item tracking through the buffer.
3Productivity
If multiple identical items across multiple orders are consolidated for single-item conveyance, then conveyance efficiency improves, but additional analysis steps and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The order buffer is designed with dynamic storage lanes that can be flexibly allocated and released based on current order requirements. Storage lanes are assigned to specific orders only when needed and are automatically released after sorting completes. This dynamic allocation optimizes space utilization, allowing the buffer to handle consolidated conveyance of multiple identical items across orders without requiring excessive permanent storage capacity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for picking individual items comprises the following steps: creating an order list containing several individual items using a control unit (7), wherein the order list contains at least one order and in particular several, especially n, orders; conveying the individual items of the order list from an item storage (9) into an order buffer (10); temporarily storing the individual items in the order buffer (10); conveying the individual items of the order list from the order buffer (10) into a sorting unit (11); picking the individual items for the at least one order of the order list using the sorting unit (11); conveying the individual items picked for an order from the sorting unit (11) to a packing station (12).