Overhead Suspended Pouch Delivery System for Retail
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing order delivery systems in stores and warehouses require significant storage space, a large workforce, and are costly to implement, with customers often facing long wait times for order retrieval.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising suspended pouches on a track that automatically transports orders from within a building to a pick-up location outside, where orders can be efficiently delivered to customers or trucks upon their arrival, reducing the need for manual intervention and saving floor space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If orders are stored on shelves in bags with pickers waiting for customers, then storage space and workforce are required, but customer wait time increases and operational costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from ground-level shelf storage to overhead suspended pouch storage, utilizing the vertical dimension above customer pathways. This allows orders to be stored and transported in the air space, eliminating the need for traditional shelving and reducing floor space requirements while enabling automated delivery directly to customers.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated pouch transport system enables self-service order delivery where customers can retrieve their orders automatically without waiting for pickers. The system autonomously transports pouches containing customer orders along overhead tracks and delivers them directly to designated pickup points, eliminating manual intervention.
2Loss of time
If bins are used in an automated bin storage system, then customer wait time is reduced, but implementation cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses simple, lightweight pouches instead of expensive automated bin storage systems. These pouches are inexpensive to manufacture, can be easily replaced, and serve as temporary containers for orders during transport. This approach achieves automated delivery functionality at a fraction of the cost of complex bin-based systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs flexible pouches made from thin film materials to contain and transport orders. These pouches can be easily suspended, moved along tracks, and delivered to customers. The flexibility and simplicity of these thin-film containers provide a cost-effective alternative to rigid, expensive automated storage bins.
3Productivity
If traditional shelving and pickers are used, then orders can be stored and delivered, but floor space is consumed and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system relocates order storage from the horizontal plane (floor level shelves) to the vertical plane (overhead suspended pouches). By utilizing the three-dimensional space above customer walkways, the system eliminates the need for extensive floor space while maintaining order storage and delivery capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical system of pickers manually retrieving orders from shelves with an automated overhead transport system. Pouches containing orders are automatically conveyed along suspended tracks and delivered to customers, eliminating the need for human pickers and reducing labor costs while improving delivery efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for automatically delivering an order to a pick-up location outside a building. Such a system includes: pouches adapted to receive a bag, associated with the control; a device for signalling and/or detecting presence of a customer in the vicinity of a pick-up location; and a height-mounted transport module, which includes: a suspension element for suspending the pouches from a travel track, the suspension elements being moved automatically on the track; and an actuator to displace the pouches in which the different parts of the order have been deposited, to the pick-up location when the device for signalling and/or detecting emit a signal confirming the presence of the user in the vicinity of the pick-up location.