Presort System for Robot-Assisted Putaway Tasks

Solution Overview

Problem

Current robot-assisted order-fulfillment systems face inefficiencies in putaway tasks, particularly with unsorted items, leading to disorganized travel routing and reduced productivity due to the need for human operators to manually sort and place items in warehouses.

Innovation Solution

A presorting system that assigns unsorted items to zones within a warehouse using item storage arrays with interconnected containers, where items are scanned and sorted by a scanning device, and then placed into corresponding containers based on their storage locations, allowing robots to navigate efficiently and execute putaway tasks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If unsorted items are put away on a first-come first-served basis using human operators, then the putaway process can be performed with simple equipment, but the travel routing becomes highly disorganized and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity of putaway processVSAvoidtravel time for human operators

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary sorting of unsorted items into zones before they are assigned to robots. The centralized server determines zone assignments for items based on their storage locations, and items are pre-sorted into containers corresponding to their zones. This preliminary organization enables robots to execute putaway tasks with localized, efficient travel routing rather than traversing the entire warehouse in a disorganized manner.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Extent of automation

If robots are used to execute putaway tasks without presorting, then automation level increases, but routing efficiency decreases due to geographically dispersed items

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverobotic putaway capabilityVSAvoidputaway throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary sorting of unsorted items into zones before they are assigned to robots. The centralized server determines zone assignments for items based on their storage locations, and items are pre-sorted into containers corresponding to their zones. This preliminary organization enables robots to execute putaway tasks with localized, efficient travel routing rather than traversing the entire warehouse in a disorganized manner.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The warehouse is segmented into multiple zones, and items are sorted into corresponding zone-specific containers. Each robot is assigned a specific zone or set of zones, which divides the robot population into specialized units that operate within localized areas. This segmentation reduces the travel distance and time for each robot while maintaining high automation levels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Quantity of substance

If items are stored far apart in the warehouse to maximize storage capacity, then storage density increases, but retrieval and putaway operations become more time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage capacityVSAvoiditem retrieval and putaway time

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary sorting of unsorted items into zones based on their intended storage locations before robots are dispatched. This allows robots to plan efficient routes that minimize travel time even when items are stored far apart, as the routing is optimized based on pre-determined zone assignments rather than random or first-come first-served placement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11724883B2Presort system for executing robot-assisted putaway tasks

Publication Date: 2023.08.15 LOCUS ROBOTICS CORP

AI summary

Systems and methods for presorting and executing robot-assisted putaway tasks in a navigational space include assigning each of a plurality of item storage arrays to one of a plurality of zones defined within the navigational space, scanning an item identifier of at least one of a plurality of unsorted items to be stored at locations throughout the warehouse, retrieving, in response to receiving identifying information corresponding to the at least one scanned unsorted item, item data describing a storage location for putaway within the warehouse of each of the at least one scanned items, determining, from the storage location, a corresponding one of the plurality of zones of the warehouse in which the storage location is located, and placing each scanned unsorted item into an interconnected container of one of the item storage arrays assigned to the corresponding one of the zones.