Pattern Assignment for Item Identification in Materials Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
In materials handling facilities, the inefficiency in identifying specific items among numerous similar ones stored together leads to increased time and effort for picking agents, especially in electronic commerce environments where items are co-located for space optimization but become difficult to distinguish.
Innovation Solution
Assigning pattern information, such as color, shape, or texture, to items or their packaging, which can be manually or automatically applied, and using communication devices to present this information to picking agents to aid in identification, allowing them to quickly distinguish items in inventory areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If items are co-located in single storage location for space optimization, then inventory space utilization is improved, but item identification difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces pattern information indicators (visual markers such as colored labels, stickers, or tags) as intermediaries between the item and the picking agent. These indicators are attached to items or their packaging and provide immediate visual differentiation without requiring the agent to examine the items themselves, thus resolving the contradiction between space optimization and identification ease
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies color-based pattern information to items or their packaging to enable quick visual identification. By assigning distinct colors or color patterns to different items or item categories, the system allows picking agents to rapidly distinguish between co-located items without physical inspection, maintaining both space efficiency and identification speed
2Productivity
If numerous similar items are stored together, then storage efficiency is improved, but picking time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies pattern information indicators to items during the storage or receiving process, before the picking operation occurs. This preliminary action ensures that when picking agents need to locate items, the visual differentiation is already in place, eliminating the need for time-consuming item-by-item examination and reducing picking time while maintaining efficient storage
3Ease of operation
If items are stored by common designation, then inventory management is simplified, but locating specific items becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identification process into two parts: group-level identification by common designation (for inventory management) and item-level identification by pattern information indicators (for quick location). This segmentation allows items to be organized by category for easy management while enabling picking agents to quickly locate specific items within categories using visual markers, resolving the time-consuming aspect of item location
Data Source
AI summary
Pattern information may be associated with an item in an inventory to facilitate identification of the item from among other items in the inventory. The pattern information may represent a feature extrinsic to the physical appearance of the item and may be assigned to the item deterministically, randomly, or pseudo-randomly. An indicator of the pattern information, such as a tag or sticker, may be applied to the item or to its packaging to provide a visual aid to distinguish the item from other items in the same inventory or the item may be enclosed in additional packaging comprising an indicator of the assigned pattern information. Pattern information assigned to the item may comprise a single color, shape, pattern, or other attribute and may include other secondary pattern information. Different amounts of pattern information may be associated with different items or with the same item when co-located with other different items.