Single-Grid Load Handler for Dense Multi-Level Container Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage systems face inefficiencies in storage density and accessibility, particularly in handling multiple product lines, as they require significant space for aisle access and are impractical for online retail businesses with vast product ranges, where single-product stacks are inefficient due to high space requirements and limited accessibility of items within multi-product stacks.
Innovation Solution
A load handling device with a reduced footprint that occupies only a single grid space in the storage system, allowing for efficient lateral movement and lifting of containers, enabling more devices to operate without obstructing each other, and facilitating faster retrieval of items from any stack level, including the bottom, by using a grid pattern of rails and a container-receiving space with integrated components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rectangular tube load handler is used to grip containers at any level in the stack, then containers can be lifted at once from a stack, but the height of the tube has to be at least as high as the height of the largest stack of containers, restricting the maximum height of stacks in enclosed spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The load handler is divided into multiple segments or sections along its length. Each segment can independently grip and lift containers from different levels of the stack. This segmentation allows the load handler to access containers at any level without requiring the entire tube to be as tall as the largest stack, thereby resolving the contradiction between extraction capability and stack height restriction.
2Productivity
If single-product stacks are used to store all containers containing the same product, then containers can be moved efficiently between stacks, but a very large floor area would be required to accommodate all stacks for online retail businesses with vast product ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The load handler is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple product types and stack configurations. It can operate with both single-product stacks and multi-product stacks, adapting its operation based on the stack type. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain efficient container movement while reducing the total floor area needed by implementing multi-product stacks vertically, thereby resolving the contradiction between productivity and floor area requirements.
3Productivity
If the load handler tube height is increased to accommodate the largest stack, then the highest stack of containers can be extracted in a single operation, but the system occupies more space and cannot be accommodated in enclosed spaces like warehouses
Solution Approach 1:
The load handler tube is segmented into multiple sections that can independently operate to grip and lift containers from different stack levels. This segmentation enables the system to extract containers from the highest stack levels in a single operation without requiring the entire tube to span the full height of the largest stack, thereby maintaining productivity while reducing the overall system volume for warehouse accommodation.
Solution Approach 2:
The load handler employs a multi-dimensional approach by distributing gripping mechanisms across different vertical levels rather than using a single continuous tube. This dimensional redistribution allows the system to access containers at any height without increasing the overall tube height, resolving the contradiction between single-operation extraction capability and system space requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage system and a load handling device for lifting and moving containers stacked in the storage system are described. The storage system includes a plurality of rails or tracks arranged in a grid pattern above the stacks of containers. The grid pattern can include a plurality of grid spaces and each stack is located within a footprint of only a single grid space. The load handling device is configured to move laterally on the rails or tracks above the stacks. The load-handling device includes a container-receiving space located above the rails or tracks in use and a lifting device arranged to lift a container from a stack into the container-receiving space. The load handling device has a footprint that, in use, occupies only a single grid space in the storage system.