Picking Device Target Container Circulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance picking systems face challenges in efficiently picking 1000 or more items per hour, overwhelming the source container conveyor device and requiring a relief mechanism, while also needing to minimize space and costs.
Innovation Solution
The system supplies multiple target containers to the picking person, allowing articles from a single source container to be picked into multiple target containers, reducing the need for frequent source container access and enabling continuous picking, with conveyor devices designed to circulate target and source containers efficiently, allowing for modular and cost-effective design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple target containers are supplied to the picking person, then picking efficiency increases, but the complexity of the conveyor system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the picking process by introducing multiple target containers that can be independently supplied to the picking person. Each target container can be filled from source containers and then supplied to the picking area, allowing parallel processing of multiple picking tasks simultaneously. This segmentation enables the picking person to work on multiple containers in parallel, significantly increasing picking efficiency without requiring a complete system redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary buffer system between the source container conveyor and the picking person. This buffer holds multiple target containers that are ready for picking, decoupling the picking process from the source container supply rhythm. The intermediary allows the picking person to access multiple containers without directly increasing the complexity of the source container conveyor system.
2Productivity
If source container conveyor is relieved by providing buffer, then picking efficiency increases, but space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a nested structure where target containers are placed within or adjacent to the picking area, and source containers are positioned to feed into the target container filling process. The buffer mechanism is integrated closely with the picking station, allowing multiple containers to be held in a compact arrangement that minimizes additional space requirements while still providing the relief function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes vertical stacking and multi-level arrangement of containers to minimize horizontal space requirements. By arranging target containers and source containers in vertical layers and using the vertical dimension for buffering, the system achieves the necessary buffer capacity without proportionally increasing the horizontal footprint of the picking area.
3Power
If articles are picked from single source container into multiple target containers, then source container conveyor workload decreases, but picking process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning multiple target containers in the buffer, ready to be filled from source containers. This allows the source container conveyor to continuously supply articles to multiple target containers in parallel without waiting for each container to be individually processed, thereby reducing the conveyor's workload while the picking process manages the complexity through systematic coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous useful action by allowing the source container conveyor to continuously supply articles to multiple target containers that are simultaneously being filled and then supplied to the picking person. This continuous flow eliminates idle time in the conveyor system and maintains steady productivity, with the picking process managing complexity through coordinated container handling.
Data Source
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AI summary
The device (1) has a commissioning area (3) for commissioning of articles from box-shaped source containers (21) into box-shaped destination containers (15) by a commissioning person (5) located in the commissioning area. A destination container-conveying device (37) conveys and leads the destination containers to/from respective destination container-circulation conveying devices (7, 9, 11, 13). Source container-conveying devices (39, 19) convey the source containers from an article storage to the commissioning area and from the commissioning area to the article storage. An independent claim is also included for a method for commissioning articles from source containers into destination containers by a commissioning person.