Grouping Goods for High-Throughput Picking and Packing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for picking and packing goods from a source storage installation to a target load carrier achieve only a relatively low speed due to the individual movement of goods, which limits throughput.
Innovation Solution
The method involves forming groupings of goods in advance according to a packing layout, which are then moved collectively onto the target load carrier in a single movement, optimizing the process by dividing it into two steps: grouping and positioning, allowing for simultaneous movement of multiple goods and minimizing movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If goods are moved individually onto the target load carrier, then positioning precision is maintained, but throughput is limited to relatively low speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the goods into groupings that correspond to parts of the packing layout before movement. This segmentation allows multiple goods to be handled as a single unit, enabling parallel processing and increasing throughput without compromising positioning precision, as each grouping is positioned together in its final destination location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs the grouping action in advance, before the goods are moved to the target load carrier. By pre-assembling goods into groupings according to the packing layout in a grouping region, the system eliminates the need for individual positioning during transport, thereby increasing speed and productivity.
2Speed
If goods are grouped into groupings before movement, then multiple goods can be moved simultaneously increasing speed, but the process complexity increases due to division into two steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a grouping region as an intermediary zone between the source storage installation and the target load carrier. This intermediate area allows goods to be grouped into relevant groupings before final positioning, separating the grouping operation from the positioning operation and enabling both to occur in parallel, thus reducing overall process complexity while maintaining high speed.
3Productivity
If groupings are arranged adjacently on the target load carrier, then simultaneous movement is enabled, but space utilization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by arranging groupings adjacently on the target load carrier in a space-efficient manner. The groupings are positioned to utilize available space optimally, with smaller groupings fitting between or around larger ones, similar to nested dolls, thereby enabling simultaneous movement while minimizing the total space required on the target carrier.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for the picking and packing of goods from at least one source storage installation on at least one target load carrier according to a packing layout. Further, the invention relates to a method for the picking and packing of goods from at least one source storage installation on at least one target load carrier according to a packing layout. In order to achieve a particularly efficient method, it is provided according to the invention that a partial amount of the goods that are to be positioned on the target load carrier are arranged in a grouping region according to a grouping that corresponds to a part of the packing layout, after which the grouping is moved from the grouping region into a position on the target load carrier that corresponds to the packing layout.