Storage Bin Lid Magazine for Cross-Contamination Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional warehouse storage systems face issues with contamination and inefficiencies in managing container lids, particularly in automated storage and retrieval systems where sensitive goods like foodstuffs are stored, leading to potential cross-contamination and suboptimal space utilization.
Innovation Solution
A magazine system is introduced that supports container lids, allowing them to be lowered into and out of storage columns, enabling separation and reattachment to containers as needed to prevent contamination and optimize storage space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If container lids are stored stacked on top of open bins in the warehouse environment, then storage space is utilized, but cross-contamination occurs between bins and lids
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the lid handling process into distinct segments: removal from containers at the port, storage in the magazine, and retrieval when needed. This segmentation prevents contamination by ensuring lids are not stacked on open bins, while the magazine provides dedicated storage space specifically for lids, resolving the contradiction between space utilization and contamination prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine acts as an intermediary component between the port and the storage bins. It receives lids from the port, stores them in a controlled environment, and makes them available for retrieval. This intermediary structure eliminates the need to stack lids directly on open bins, preventing cross-contamination while maintaining efficient space utilization through vertical stacking within the magazine.
2Reliability
If lids are removed and set aside for later use, then cross-contamination is prevented, but additional storage space and complexity are required
Solution Approach 1:
The magazine serves multiple functions: it stores lids when not in use, provides a controlled environment to prevent contamination, and enables efficient retrieval when lids are needed. By consolidating these functions into a single component, the system achieves reliable contamination prevention without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The magazine is integrated within the existing automated storage and retrieval system framework, nesting the lid storage function within the broader system architecture. The magazine itself can store multiple lids in a compact vertical arrangement, creating a nested structure that minimizes space and complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a magazine system is introduced to manage lids separately, then cross-contamination is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The magazine is designed to be automatically serviced by the existing robotic system. The robot can autonomously remove lids from containers at the port, place them in the magazine, and retrieve them when needed, without requiring additional manual intervention or complex control systems. This self-service capability minimizes the increase in device complexity while effectively preventing cross-contamination.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The disclosure relates to magazine for storing one or more storage bin lids at a storage grid, the storage grid having a support structure that defines a horizontal grid of columns, each column being arranged for the vertical passage and/or storage of one or more storage bins, the magazine being arranged for location adjacent to a column of the storage grid and comprising one or more supports, each support being moveable between: a projecting position wherein at least a portion of the support projects into the column to enable a storage bin lid to be lowered onto the support, and a retracted position wherein the support and any storage bin lid supported thereby do not impinge on the column.