Autonomous Fork Side-Shift Pallet Loading in Tight Trailers

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Solution Overview

Problem

Autonomous mobile robots face challenges in precisely placing pallets in confined trailer spaces due to limited room and the need for precise alignment to avoid collisions with trailer walls, door edges, or other pallets.

Innovation Solution

The autonomous mobile robot uses sensors to detect contact and boundaries, allowing it to side-shift pallets within the trailer. It determines the pose of the trailer and pallets, navigates to a drop position, and side-shifts the fork to align with the trailer wall, ensuring precise placement.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If standard forklifts operated by skilled workers are used to place pallets in trailers, then precise pallet placement can be achieved to avoid collisions, but the operation requires human skill and experience, reducing automation level

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepallet placement precisionVSAvoidautomation level

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical operation of human forklift operators with an autonomous mobile robot equipped with sensors and control systems. The robot uses sensors to detect trailer boundaries and walls, processes this information to determine precise positioning, and automatically maneuvers the forklift to place pallets with high precision, eliminating the need for human operators while maintaining or improving placement accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The autonomous robot incorporates sensor feedback systems that continuously monitor the robot's position, trailer boundaries, and wall locations. This feedback loop allows the robot to adjust its positioning in real-time, ensuring precise pallet placement by comparing sensor data with target positions and making corrective movements as needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If the autonomous mobile robot side-shifts the fork to align with the trailer wall for precise pallet placement, then collision avoidance is improved, but the robot requires additional space to perform side-shifting movements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollision avoidanceVSAvoidspace required in trailer

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The robot performs preliminary side-shifting movements to align the fork with the trailer wall before inserting the pallet. By pre-positioning the fork in the correct alignment, the robot ensures that the pallet is placed precisely against the wall, maximizing space utilization and preventing collisions without requiring excessive maneuvering space during the actual insertion process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent divides the pallet placement operation into distinct phases: approach, side-shift alignment, insertion, and release. By segmenting the process, the robot can perform the space-intensive side-shifting operation before entering the confined trailer space, then execute the insertion phase with minimal space requirements, effectively managing the space constraint.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Productivity

If the robot navigates to positions inside the trailer for pallet placement, then loading efficiency is improved, but the robot may not have sufficient space to fully accommodate itself in the trailer

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveloading efficiencyVSAvoidrobot accommodation space

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent utilizes the third dimension (vertical space) and lateral positioning to solve the space constraint problem. The robot positions itself partially inside and partially outside the trailer, using the ramp area and lateral space to accommodate its body while extending the forklift into the trailer for pallet placement. This dimensional approach allows the robot to maintain loading efficiency without requiring full robot accommodation inside the confined trailer space.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS20250130580A1Autonomous mobile robot operations for in-trailer loading

Publication Date: 2025.04.24 GIDEON BROTHERS D O O

AI summary

Loading a pallet into a trailer using an autonomous mobile robot. The robot determines a pose of the trailer based on sensor data and navigates to a first goal position inside the trailer, determined based on the pose of the trailer. The robot then side-shifts the fork toward the trailer's side wall until sensors detect contact between the pallet and the side wall, with the pallet positioned above a lip on the trailer wall. The robot retracts the fork by a distance corresponding to the lip's width to prevent the pallet and the side wall of the trailer from scraping each other. The robot then navigates in a straight line forward to a second goal position, which is within a predetermined threshold distance from the drop position. The robot releases the pallet at the second goal position.