Triangulation Sensing for Inventory Holder Alignment and Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inventory systems face inefficiencies in space and equipment utilization, leading to lower throughput, long response times, and increased costs due to capacity constraints, making it difficult to accommodate additional items without expensive expansions or relocations.
Innovation Solution
An inventory management system utilizing sensors to detect the position and orientation of inventory holders, enabling robotic manipulators to accurately position and move inventory containers within the system, optimizing storage and retrieval processes through automated alignment and movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If inventory storage location is filled to capacity with items and equipment, then storage capacity is maximized, but the cost of adding additional space or moving items to secondary location increases prohibitively
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts inventory holder positioning and orientation using sensors and robotic manipulators to optimize space utilization within existing capacity constraints, allowing flexible reconfiguration without physical expansion
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes three-dimensional positioning and orientation adjustment of inventory holders, detecting pitch, roll, and yaw to optimize spatial arrangement and maximize storage density within the existing storage location capacity
2Productivity
If automated sensor system is implemented to detect inventory holder position and orientation, then storage and retrieval efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system serves multiple functions: detecting position, determining orientation (pitch, roll, yaw), calculating engagement positions, and guiding robotic manipulators, thereby improving productivity while managing complexity through multi-functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses calculated engagement positions as intermediaries between sensor detection and robotic manipulation, simplifying the control process by providing predetermined target positions for robotic end-effectors to achieve accurate inventory container transfers
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances system efficiency by optimizing storage and retrieval processes, improving throughput, reducing costs, and enabling better utilization of existing space without the need for costly expansions or item relocations.
Implementation Method 1
the sensors can include time of flight sensors
Data Source
AI summary
An inventory management system includes an inventory holder and sensors. The sensors measure distances to locations on the inventory holder. The measurements are used to determine pitch, roll, and yaw of the inventory holder. The pitch, roll, and yaw are used to determine a location of an inventory cubicle in the inventory holder.