Robotic Grid Storage With Smart Containers for Condition Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems lack active components and intelligence, limiting their ability to monitor and control conditions within containers, which restricts efficient storage and retrieval of diverse products and increases costs due to the need for complex hoisting mechanisms and restricted stack heights in enclosed spaces.
Innovation Solution
A storage system featuring a grid pattern of rails with robotic load handling devices and containers equipped with service means, such as sensors, data logging, and communication systems, allowing for condition monitoring and control of temperature, lighting, and other parameters, enabling peer-to-peer communication and service provision between containers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If containers are arranged in stacks to increase storage density, then storage capacity is improved, but access to specific containers becomes difficult without complex hoisting mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical hoisting mechanisms with a robotic load handler that uses a grid of rails and automated positioning systems. The load handler travels along rails to reach specific stacks and uses automated gripping mechanisms to access containers at any level, eliminating the need for traditional hoisting equipment while maintaining high storage density.
Solution Approach 2:
The load handler is equipped with sensors and control systems that enable it to autonomously navigate the grid, identify target containers, and execute retrieval operations without human intervention. The system self-manages the complex coordination required to access containers in high-density stacks, reducing the need for complex external control mechanisms.
2Device complexity
If containers are made passive without active components, then device complexity is reduced, but ability to monitor and control container conditions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
Containers are equipped with embedded sensors, data logging devices, and communication systems that enable them to autonomously monitor their own conditions (temperature, humidity, shock, etc.) and automatically transmit this data to the central control system. This self-monitoring capability provides reliable condition tracking without requiring complex external monitoring infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The service means embedded in containers serve multiple functions: environmental sensing, data logging, wireless communication, and identification. This multi-functionality provides comprehensive condition monitoring capability while avoiding the need for separate dedicated systems for each monitoring function, thus limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If a rectangular tube load handler is used to extract containers from any level, then access flexibility is improved, but the tube height must accommodate the largest stack restricting maximum stack height in enclosed spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The load handler is divided into multiple segments or sections that can extend and retract vertically. This segmented structure allows the load handler to reach containers at any level of a tall stack without requiring the entire tube to be as tall as the maximum stack, enabling flexible access while accommodating height constraints in enclosed spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The load handler employs dynamic positioning capabilities with adjustable arms or grippers that can reach different heights and positions within a stack. The system dynamically adapts its configuration based on the target container location, providing full stack access flexibility while maintaining a compact overall structure that fits within enclosed space height limitations.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage system is described where goods are stored in containers and the containers are stored in stacks. Above the stacks runs a grid network of tracks on which load handling devices run. The load handling devices take containers from the stacks and deposit then at alternative locations in the stacks or deposit then at stations where goods may be picked out. The containers may be provided with one or more of the following services: power, power control, heating, lighting, cooling, sensing, and data logging. The provision of these services within individual containers rather than across the system as a whole, allows for flexibility in storage while reducing cost and inefficiency.