Movable Track Vehicle for High-Throughput Storage Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern material handling systems face inefficiencies in utilizing resources such as space, equipment, and manpower, leading to lower throughput and longer response times as they expand to accommodate a greater number and variety of articles, ultimately reaching a point of diminishing returns where further capacity gains become cost-prohibitive.
Innovation Solution
A method and system utilizing a vehicle with dual drive systems to navigate and interact with a moveable track, allowing for horizontal and vertical movement to efficiently deliver items to storage locations within a storage assembly, optimizing resource utilization and reducing operational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the capacity of existing automation infrastructure is incrementally expanded, then throughput and functionality are improved, but cost and complexity increase to the point of diminishing returns
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs dynamically reconfigurable automation infrastructure where robotic vehicles and storage modules can be relocated and repositioned based on changing operational requirements. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to scale capacity without proportionally increasing complexity, as the same core components can be reconfigured for different functions and capacities over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The automation infrastructure uses universal, multi-functional components such as robotic vehicles that can perform multiple tasks (transport, lifting, depositing) and storage modules that can serve different purposes. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity compared to specialized equipment for each function, while still achieving high throughput and scalability.
2Quantity of substance
If automation infrastructure is expanded to accommodate more articles, then storage capacity increases, but response time increases and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The storage system is divided into multiple independent storage modules that can be accessed separately by robotic vehicles. This segmentation allows parallel operations where multiple vehicles can service different modules simultaneously, maintaining fast response times even as total storage capacity increases. No single point of failure or bottleneck affects the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
Robotic vehicles act as intermediaries between storage modules and retrieval points, enabling efficient transfer of articles without direct human intervention or complex mechanical linkages. This intermediary approach decouples the storage capacity from response time, as vehicles can optimize their routes and operations independently of the total number of articles stored.
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing infrastructure is replaced with new automation platform, then capacity and functionality can be reset, but cost becomes prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides dynamic adaptability through reconfigurable robotic vehicles and modular storage units that can be rearranged to meet changing capacity and functionality requirements. This eliminates the need for costly infrastructure replacement, as the same components can be reconfigured for different operational scenarios, maintaining versatility at lower cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular architecture allows individual components to be discarded, upgraded, or recovered independently. When capacity or functionality needs change, specific modules can be replaced or reconfigured rather than replacing the entire infrastructure, significantly reducing costs while maintaining adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system may include a vehicle for delivering items and a moveable track that cooperates with the vehicle. The moveable track may cooperate with a storage system having storage locations for storing items. The vehicle may drive into the moveable track and lift the track using a vertical drive mechanism. The vehicle may include a horizontal drive system operable to drive the vehicle horizontally along the ground to carry the moveable track to a position adjacent the storage location. The vehicle may operate the vertical drive system to drop the moveable track adjacent the storage system. Additionally, the vehicle may operate the vertical drive to drive up the moveable track to an elevated position adjacent one of the storage locations in the storage system. The vehicle may include a transfer mechanism for transferring items between the vehicle and the storage location while the vehicle is in the elevated position.