Vehicle-Portable Grid Assessment With Tilt-Sensor Rail Levelness
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Solution Overview
Problem
The grid in automated storage and retrieval systems can become uneven over time due to shifting upright members or damaged tracks, posing a risk of container handling vehicle damage and system downtime, necessitating a method to assess and maintain grid levelness.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-portable grid assessment device with pivoting arms and tilt sensors is lowered onto the rail system to measure grid cell levelness, communicate with central control, and optionally repair gaps using cameras and robotic arms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the grid is left unmonitored over time, then the system operates without interruption, but the grid becomes uneven causing vehicle damage and system downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The assessment device performs preliminary monitoring of grid levelness before damage occurs. Tilt sensors continuously measure the levelness of grid cells, and the control system identifies uneven areas beforehand, allowing preventive maintenance to be scheduled before vehicles are damaged or the system goes down.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback through tilt sensors that measure grid levelness and communicate data to the control system. The control system processes this feedback, identifies uneven grid cells, and triggers alerts or automated repair actions, creating a closed-loop monitoring system that maintains grid integrity.
2Measurement precision
If a grid assessment device is installed, then grid levelness can be monitored, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The assessment device is designed to be universally applicable across multiple grid cells. The device includes pivoting arms with tilt sensors that can measure levelness in different directions and positions. The control system can direct the device to assess any grid cell in the automated storage system, making it a multi-functional tool rather than a specialized single-purpose device.
Solution Approach 2:
The assessment device is divided into modular components: a body, multiple pivoting arms, tilt sensors, and a control system. This segmentation allows the device to be compact, easy to transport, and adaptable to different grid configurations. The pivoting arms can be independently positioned to assess different grid cells without requiring a completely different device for each location.
3Productivity
If manual inspection methods are used, then the system remains simple, but assessment time and labor increase
Solution Approach 1:
The assessment device performs self-service monitoring by automatically measuring grid levelness using tilt sensors and communicating results to the control system. The device can autonomously navigate to different grid cells, collect data, and transmit information without requiring manual intervention for each measurement, significantly reducing assessment time and labor requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical inspection with automated electronic measurement. Instead of workers physically checking grid levelness with spirit levels or other manual tools, tilt sensors electronically measure inclination angles and digitally communicate results to the control system, dramatically increasing assessment speed and eliminating labor time.
4Ease of operation
If the assessment device is made portable and vehicle-mounted, then the device can be easily deployed, but the lifting mechanism adds complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting mechanism is designed to raise and lower the assessment device vertically to match the height of the grid cells being assessed. The mechanism maintains the device at the appropriate elevation (equipotential position) for measurement, allowing the tilt sensors to accurately measure grid levelness without requiring the device to be permanently mounted at various heights throughout the system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous monitoring and maintenance of grid levelness, preventing vehicle damage and system downtime by identifying and correcting uneven areas.
Implementation Method 1
there is an tilt sensor attached to at least one of the pivoting arms for measuring the angle of the pivoting arm in relation to a horizontal level
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle-portable grid assessment device is capable of being lowered onto a rail system device for assessing a top of a framework structure of a storage grid in an automated storage and retrieval system. The framework structure includes a rail system. The rail system includes a first set of parallel rails arranged to guide movement of a container handling vehicle in a first direction across the top of the framework structure, and a second set of parallel rails arranged perpendicular to the first set of rails to guide movement of the container handling vehicle in a second direction across the top of the framework structure that is perpendicular to the first direction. The first and second sets of parallel rails dividing the rail system into a plurality of grid cells. The framework structure includes upright members to support the rail-system and at least one container handling vehicle operating on the rail system. The device includes a body with a pivoting arm on at least one side. Each pivoting arm is positioned in the center on each side. Each pivoting arm has a rail contactor at either end and is pivoted around a central point of the pivoting arm corresponding to a balance point of the device. There is a tilt sensor attached to at least one of the pivoting arms for measuring the angle of the pivoting arm in relation to a horizontal level.