Warehouse Retrieval Truck Active Hoisting Gap Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cargo handling systems for warehouses face inefficiencies due to the need for manual labor, excessive energy consumption, and time wastage in transporting entire storage units to and from workstations, especially when only a few items need to be retrieved or delivered, leading to unnecessary handling and energy expenditure.
Innovation Solution
A cargo handling system featuring a retrieval truck with active and passive lifting elements that allows for the selective retrieval and placement of items within storage units using a network of tracks and wheels, enabling the truck to access multiple levels and shelves without descending to the ground, thus reducing energy and time consumption by transporting only the necessary items and using a programmable control unit for optimized operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If entire storage units are transported to workstations for item retrieval, then items can be accessed and delivered, but energy consumption and time expenditure increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the retrieval function from the entire storage unit transport. Instead of moving the whole crate or pallet to the workstation, the system extracts only the specific items needed and delivers them. This is achieved through a robotic manipulator that can pick individual items from storage units while they remain in place on shelves, eliminating the energy-wasting round trip of transporting nearly empty storage units back to storage areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the retrieval process into two independent operations: (1) the storage units remain stationary on shelves, and (2) a mobile robotic system with manipulator travels to access and extract specific items. This segmentation allows the storage units to stay in place while the lightweight robotic system moves only the necessary items to the workstation, dramatically reducing energy consumption compared to transporting entire heavy storage units.
2Productivity
If multiple loading machines operate in parallel, then more storage units can be handled simultaneously, but investment costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal mobile robotic system that can service multiple storage locations. Instead of installing dedicated loading equipment at each shelf (as in prior art requiring expensive lifting devices at every level), a single multi-functional robotic platform with active lifting elements can travel along tracks to access storage units at various levels, performing multiple functions with one device thereby reducing overall investment costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic mobile robotic units that can move along track systems to different storage locations rather than static loading equipment fixed at each position. The robots can dynamically reposition themselves and their lifting mechanisms to access storage units at different heights and locations, enabling flexible parallel operations without requiring expensive fixed infrastructure at every storage point.
3Ease of operation
If storage units are accessed from ground level, then manual handling is simplified, but access to items at higher levels becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vertical mobility through active lifting elements that can raise and lower the robotic manipulator along the vertical dimension. This allows the system to access storage units at any height level without requiring manual climbing or ground-level access, combining the ease of automated manipulation with full vertical accessibility to all storage locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic manipulator with active lifting elements serves as an intermediary between the ground-level control system and the elevated storage units. Instead of direct manual access requiring physical effort and time, the automated manipulator mediates the retrieval process by traveling to, accessing, and bringing back items from any height, eliminating the time loss associated with manual high-level access while maintaining ease of operation through automation.
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
This solution enhances efficiency by allowing multiple trucks to operate simultaneously, reducing manual labor, energy, and time required for handling, while increasing storage capacity by enabling access to items at various levels without manual intervention, thus optimizing warehouse operations.
Implementation Method 1
an active lifting element (13) movable between two positions along said axial direction M2 perpendicular to the lateral surfaces 9s1, 9s2 of the retrieval truck (4) to be engaged in one of its two positions with a passive lifting element (1a) of the cargo handling system
Implementation Method 2
wheels (6) to be engaged on tracks (5), (5a), (51), (52)
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Warehouse comprising at least one retrieval truck (4) movable on a track (5, 5a, 51, 51a, 52, 52a) and comprising an active hoisting member to lift the truck by interaction with passive hoisting device along the columns of the warehouse, the retrieval truck (4) further comprising: a gathering bin (8), a manipulator adapted for moving articles from a storing unit (2) into said gathering bin (8), wheels (6) to be fitted in the tracks (5, 5a, 51, 51a, 52, 52a) and movable between at least two positions taken in an axial direction perpendicular to the lateral surfaces (9s1, 9s2) of the retrieval truck (4), the active hoisting device being movable between two positions taken in said axial direction perpendicular to the lateral surfaces (9s1, 9s2) of the retrieval truck (4) and the track (5, 5a, 51, 51a, 52, 52a) is discontinuated by a gap in the vicinity of said passive hoisting member.