Bot position sensing

• US 10,053,286 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2016
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbotic, Llc
• Original Assignee: Symbotic, Llc
• Inventors: Sullivan, Robert, Cyrulik, Michael, Toebes, Stephen C.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALHARBI, ADAM MOHAMED
• Application Number:
  US15/094,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20160221755A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0492 with cars adapted to travel in storage aisles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/69 Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles

Abstract

A storage and retrieval system including a storage structure having storage shelves, each storage shelf having slats for supporting stored items where the slats are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, an autonomous transport vehicle including at least one sensor configured to sense each of the slats and output a signal indicating when a slat is sensed, and a controller for verifying a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within the storage structure based on at least the output signal.

Claims

1. A storage and retrieval system comprising:

a storage structure having storage shelves, each storage shelf having reference datums integrally formed with the storage shelves and being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance;

an autonomous transport vehicle including at least one sensor configured to sense each of the reference datums and output a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed; and

a controller for verifying a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within the storage structure based on at least the output signal and configured to compare a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time the reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and updating a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

2. The storage and retrieval system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to ignore the output signal of the at least one sensor where the locations do not substantially coincide.

3. The storage and retrieval system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to continuously update an estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle based on a last known verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

4. The storage and retrieval system of claim 3, wherein the autonomous transport vehicle includes at least one wheel encoder and the controller is further configured to obtain wheel encoder information for updating the estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

5. The storage and retrieval system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous transport vehicle is configured to align transfer arm fingers of the autonomous transport vehicle with spaces located between the reference datums of a respective storage shelf based on the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle for extending the transfer arm fingers into the spaces without contacting the reference datums.

6. The storage and retrieval system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous transport vehicle includes a case unit detection sensor configured to detect case units located on the storage shelf and the controller is further configured to determine a position of the autonomous transport vehicle based on the sensed case units.

7. The storage and retrieval system of claim 1, wherein the reference datums are configured to support case units stored on a respective storage shelf.

8. A method comprising:

providing a storage structure having storage shelves;

providing each storage shelf with reference datums that are integrally formed with the storage shelves and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance;

sensing each of the reference datums with at least one sensor of an autonomous transport vehicle and outputting a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed;

verifying, with a controller, a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within the storage structure based on at least the output signal and comparing a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time the reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and updating a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the controller ignores the output signal of the at least one sensor where the locations do not substantially coincide.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising continuously updating an estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle, with the controller, based on a last known verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising obtaining, with the controller, wheel encoder information from the autonomous transport vehicle for updating the estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising aligning transfer arm fingers of the autonomous transport vehicle with spaces located between the reference datums of a respective storage shelf based on the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle for extending the transfer arm fingers into the spaces without contacting the reference datums.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

detecting, with the autonomous transport vehicle, case units located on the storage shelf; and

determining, with the controller, a position of the autonomous transport vehicle based on the sensed case units.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the reference datums support case units stored on a respective storage shelf.

15. A method comprising:

providing at least one vertical lift having at least one shelf;

providing reference datums on at least one wall adjacent the at least one vertical lift, the reference datums being aligned with at least one predetermined storage position on the at least one shelf;

sensing each of the reference datums with at least one sensor of an autonomous transport vehicle and outputting a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed;

aligning a payload of the autonomous transport vehicle with a predetermined storage position on a predetermined shelf of the at least one vertical lift based on a determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle;

determining, with a controller, the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle relative to the predetermined shelf based on the output signal from the at least one sensor;

verifying a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within a storage structure of a storage and retrieval system based on at least the output signal from the at least one sensor, and comparing a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time a reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and updating a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one shelf includes at least two item holding locations, the method further comprising aligning a transfer arm of the autonomous transport vehicle with one of the at least two item holding locations based on the output signal from the at least one sensor.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising ignoring the out signal from the at least one sensor where the locations do not substantially coincide.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising continually updating an estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle based on a last known verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

19. A storage and retrieval system comprising:

at least one vertical lift having at least one shelf;

at least one wall adjacent the at least one vertical lift, the wall including reference datums that are substantially aligned with at least one storage position on the at least one shelf;

an autonomous transport vehicle including at least one sensor configured to sense each of the reference datums and output a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed, where the autonomous transport vehicle is configured to align a payload of the autonomous transport vehicle with a predetermined storage position on a predetermined shelf of the at least one vertical lift based on a determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle; and

a controller configured to

determine the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle relative to the predetermined storage position on the predetermined shelf based on the output signal from the at least one sensor;

verify a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within a structure of the storage and retrieval system based on at least the output signal; and

compare a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time the reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and update a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

20. The storage and retrieval system of claim 19, wherein the at least one shelf includes at least two item holding locations and the autonomous transport vehicle includes a transfer arm, the autonomous transport vehicle being configured to align the transfer arm with one of the at least two item holding locations based on the output signal from the at least one sensor.