Automated Warehouse Picking Arrangement with Dual Load Handling Units

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Solution Overview

Problem

Manual handling of products in warehouses is labor-intensive and prone to damage, especially when retrieving specific items, leading to increased costs and reduced storage efficiency.

Innovation Solution

An automated arrangement with a main body and dual load handling units that move in multiple directions, using location information to pick and sort products by type, allowing for efficient retrieval and storage of products without manual handling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If manual handling is used to retrieve products from the warehouse, then flexibility in handling is maintained, but labor costs increase and product damage risk increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility in handlingVSAvoidlabor costs

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The automated retrieval system performs the retrieval operation independently without manual intervention. The system uses location information to automatically identify and retrieve products, eliminating the need for manual handling while maintaining operational flexibility through automated control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical handling with an automated retrieval system that uses location information and automated mechanisms to retrieve products. This substitution eliminates manual labor while maintaining the ability to handle various product types and storage configurations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If manual handling is used to retrieve products from the warehouse, then operational flexibility is maintained, but the risk of product damage increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperational flexibilityVSAvoidproduct damage risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The automated system performs retrieval operations independently without manual intervention, thereby eliminating the product damage risk associated with manual handling while maintaining operational flexibility through automated control based on location information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Productivity

If pallets are retrieved and returned to the warehouse, then product retrieval is enabled, but storage efficiency decreases due to volumetric inefficiency of returned pallets

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduct retrieval capabilityVSAvoidstorage efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the necessary products from the pallet without requiring the entire pallet to be retrieved and returned. By using location information to identify specific product positions, the system can retrieve individual products or small groups, eliminating the need to handle and store empty pallets.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the pallet into individual product units for retrieval purposes. Instead of treating the entire pallet as a single unit that must be retrieved and returned, the system identifies and retrieves specific products from their positions on the pallet, thereby eliminating the volumetric inefficiency of returned pallets.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Productivity

If automated retrieval system is implemented, then labor costs are reduced and product damage is minimized, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelabor costsVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The automated retrieval system is designed to handle multiple product types and storage configurations through a single unified system. The system uses location information to identify and retrieve various products from different positions, eliminating the need for multiple specialized systems and thereby reducing overall complexity despite automation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses location information as feedback to control the retrieval operation. By continuously monitoring and using location data to guide the automated retrieval process, the system achieves precise product identification and retrieval without requiring complex manual intervention or multiple specialized systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS9963294B2Arrangement and method in a warehouse

Publication Date: 2018.05.08 PESMEL

AI summary

The invention relates to an arrangement for picking and sorting products in a warehouse, which arrangement comprises a main body (400) arranged to move in at least one direction, at least a first load handling unit (401) and a second load handling unit (402), arranged adjacent to each other in the main body for positioning the products to a storage position (201, 202; 203; 204) and removing the products from a storage position, means for producing location information of the products in the storage position, and a control unit for controlling the movements of the main body and the load handling units, based on the location information, for sorting the products to storage positions by type of products. The invention also relates to method for picking and sorting products in a warehouse.