Automated storage and retrieval system with microclimate-controlled receptacles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated storage and retrieval systems often underutilize vertical space in warehouses and distribution centers because specialized environments for particular groupings of goods are often too large or only occasionally filled to capacity.
Innovation Solution
Automated warehouse systems with individually climate-controlled storage receptacles and a warehouse control system that monitors and adjusts the microclimate within each tote, allowing for independent environmental control and flexible storage environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large specialized environment is used to store particular groupings of goods, then the environmental control is sufficient for the goods, but the vertical space in warehouses and distribution centers is underutilized
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the storage environment into individual controllable zones using separate receptacles, each with its own environmental controls. This allows each receptacle to be optimized for specific goods while the overall system efficiently utilizes vertical space through automated storage structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from horizontal specialized storage areas to vertical automated storage structures with multiple levels. Receptacles are stacked and arranged vertically, maximizing cube utilization while maintaining environmental control through individual receptacle isolation.
2Volume of stationary object
If individually climate-controlled storage receptacles are used, then vertical space utilization is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs universal receptacle designs that can be used across multiple storage locations and configurations. The standardized receptacles with integrated environmental controls can be deployed throughout the automated storage structure, reducing overall system complexity through component standardization.
Solution Approach 2:
Each receptacle is equipped with its own environmental sensors and controls that autonomously monitor and adjust conditions without requiring external intervention. The receptacles self-regulate their microclimates based on stored goods requirements, reducing the complexity of centralized control systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If individually climate-controlled storage receptacles are used, then the adaptability for different goods is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses modular receptacle units that can be independently manufactured and then assembled into the automated storage system. Each receptacle is a self-contained module with standardized environmental controls, allowing for efficient manufacturing through repetition and standardization while maintaining adaptability for different goods.
Solution Approach 2:
The receptacles utilize adjustable environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, gas composition) that can be modified through software control rather than requiring different physical hardware for each goods type. This allows a single receptacle design to adapt to various storage requirements, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
Data Source
AI summary
An automated warehouse system and method are provided for controlling the internal microclimate of receptacles within a warehouse or order fulfilment facility. The system provides independent environmental condition monitoring and regulation for each tote. The system enables individual totes to be maintained at adequate or substantially ideal conditions, independent of its position within a storage system or the environmental conditions of adjacent totes in the storage system. The totes may include self-contained environmental control systems and/or the storage system may include environmental control inputs to adjust or maintain the environmental conditions within a particular tote. The system is operable to monitor and control the microclimate of a tote while it is stored at a storage location within the storage system or in a buffer, and may be operable to monitor and/or control the microclimates of the totes while they travel throughout the system.