Shelf Rail Conveying Structure for High-Density Warehouse Sorting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing warehousing systems face inefficiencies in space utilization, conveying speed, and sorting efficiency due to the need for large areas and high ground maintenance costs, particularly in large-scale warehousing centers where freight robots require significant space and smooth ground surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A fixed rail conveying device with transverse rails and movable members on uprights drives task modules for identifying, storing, and retrieving goods, integrating with ground freight robots to optimize space use and reduce ground maintenance needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If ground freight robots are used for warehousing and sorting, then automation level increases, but space occupation and ground maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from ground-based robot operation to three-dimensional rail-based operation within the rack structure. Movable members travel along rails mounted on rack uprights, utilizing vertical and horizontal dimensions of the rack itself rather than requiring ground space. This dimensional shift allows automation to occur within the existing rack footprint without occupying additional warehouse floor area.
Solution Approach 2:
The rail system serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the rack, defines the operational pathway for movable members, and enables both storage and retrieval operations. The same rack structure that holds goods also provides the guiding rails for automated movement, eliminating the need for separate ground-based robot pathways and reducing overall space requirements.
2Extent of automation
If ground freight robots are used for sorting operations, then sorting automation improves, but ground smoothness requirements and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sorting function from the ground level and relocates it to the rack structure. Movable members with task modules perform sorting operations at elevated positions along the rails, removing the need for smooth ground surfaces and specialized sorting platforms on the warehouse floor. The sorting mechanism is integrated into the rack-rail system rather than requiring separate ground-based infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The rail system acts as an intermediary between the rack structure and the task modules. Instead of requiring direct ground contact and smooth surfaces for robot movement, the rails provide a stable, maintained pathway that mediates between the fixed rack and the moving task modules, enabling automated sorting without ground maintenance requirements.
3Quantity of substance
If traditional warehousing with ground robots is used, then goods storage is achieved, but conveying efficiency is limited by robot speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic rail system where movable members can travel along rails at optimized speeds for different operational phases. The system allows for accelerated conveying between rack locations compared to ground robot movement, while maintaining precise positioning capability. Multiple movable members can operate simultaneously on different rail segments, increasing overall conveying throughput while preserving storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rail system enables continuous conveyance operations as movable members travel along predefined rail paths. Unlike ground robots that must navigate, turn, and reposition, the rail-guided system provides continuous, direct pathways for goods transfer. Multiple task modules can be in various stages of operation simultaneously along different rail segments, maintaining continuous productive action throughout the system.
Data Source
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AI summary
A storage shelf fixing rail conveying device and a conveying system thereof, the device comprising: a transverse rail (11), a first stand column (12), a first movable component (13), and a connecting mechanism of a task module (14). The transverse rail (11) is fixed on a shelf (10); the first stand column (12) is vertically arranged on the transverse rail (11) and can transversely slide; the first movable component (13) is arranged on the first stand column (12) and can slide along the first stand column (12); the connecting mechanism of the task module (14) is provided on the first movable component (13); the task module (14) is driven by the first movable component (13) to access cargo box and/or cargo, and puts the cargo box and/or the cargo into a connecting component of a freight robot (17) running on bottom of the shelf (16) or takes out the cargo box and/or the cargo from the connecting component. By means of using the storage shelf fixing rail conveying device and the conveying system thereof, storage space utilization rate, entering and exiting speed, and sorting efficiency of cargo in existing warehousing systems can be greatly improved.