Automated storage and retrieval system and control system thereof
First Claim
1. A method for managing throughput performance of an automated storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
- providing a storage space with storage locations defined therein;
transporting store units for storage in the storage locations and retrieving the store units from the storage locations with an automated transport system connected to the storage space; and
managing throughput performance of the automated storage and retrieval system, with a control system operably coupled to the automated transport system and having more than one separate and distinct control sections each configured to, in response to and distinct from requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, manage throughput performance with respect to a common group of the storage locations, wherein at least one of the control sections independently manages request response aspects of throughput performance of the common group independent of another of the control sections, the request response aspects of the throughput performance being responsive separately from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations but distinct from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, and a portion, determined by the independently managed aspects, of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the at least one of the control sections is decoupled from another portion of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the other control section.
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Abstract
An automated storage and retrieval system includes a storage space with storage locations defined therein, an automated transport system connected to the storage space and configured to transport store units for storage in the storage locations and retrieval from the storage locations, and a control system disposed for managing throughput performance of the automated storage and retrieval system, the control system being operably coupled to the automated transport system and having more than one separate and distinct control sections each configured for managing throughput performance with respect to a common group of the storage locations, wherein at least one of the control sections manages aspects of throughput performance of the common group independent of another of the control sections.
73 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for managing throughput performance of an automated storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
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providing a storage space with storage locations defined therein; transporting store units for storage in the storage locations and retrieving the store units from the storage locations with an automated transport system connected to the storage space; and managing throughput performance of the automated storage and retrieval system, with a control system operably coupled to the automated transport system and having more than one separate and distinct control sections each configured to, in response to and distinct from requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, manage throughput performance with respect to a common group of the storage locations, wherein at least one of the control sections independently manages request response aspects of throughput performance of the common group independent of another of the control sections, the request response aspects of the throughput performance being responsive separately from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations but distinct from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, and a portion, determined by the independently managed aspects, of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the at least one of the control sections is decoupled from another portion of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the other control section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for managing throughput performance of an automated storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
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providing a storage space with storage locations distributed therein; transporting, storing and retrieving store units from storage locations of the storage space with an automated storage and retrieval engine coupled to the storage space; and managing storage and retrieval throughput performance of a common group of the storage locations of the storage space, with a control system communicably coupled to the automated storage and retrieval engine, the control system having more than one separate and distinct controllers configured to, in response to and distinct from requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, manage throughput performance wherein, a first controller of the more than one distinct controllers independently controls the automated storage and retrieval engine and managing request aspects of throughput performance to effect transport of store units to and from storage locations of the common group, and a second controller of the more than one distinct controllers controls the disposition of store units in the storage locations of the common group, the request response aspects of the throughput performance being responsive separately from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, but distinct from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations and a portion, determined by the independent control of the automated storage and retrieval engine to effect transport of store units, of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the first controller is decoupled from another portion of the throughput performance managed by the second controller. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for managing throughput performance of an automated storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
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providing a storage space with storage locations distributed therein; transporting, storing and retrieving store units from storage locations of the storage space with an automated storage and retrieval engine coupled to the storage space; and managing storage and retrieval throughput performance of a common group of the storage locations of the storage space, with a control system communicably coupled to the automated storage and retrieval engine, the control system having more than one separate and distinct controllers configured to, in response to and distinct from requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, manage throughput performance wherein, a first controller of the more than one distinct controllers controls the automated storage and retrieval engine to effect transport of store units to and from storage locations of the common group, and a second controller of the more than one distinct controllers controls the disposition of store units in the storage locations of the common group, and a portion of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the first controller is decoupled from another portion of the throughput performance managed by the second controller, and wherein the first controller or second controller defines an independent controller that provides the control system independent information effecting storage and retrieval and throughput performance independent of another of the first controller or second controller, and the other controller provides the control system other information effecting storage and retrieval and throughput performance, the other information being based on the independent information from the independent controller, determines a storage location for a predetermined store unit by selecting the storage location from the several selectable storage locations provided by the independent information, and effects the selection by balancing, for each selectable storage location, a storage efficiency associated with the selectable storage location against throughput performance efficiency associated with the selectable storage location. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for managing throughput performance of an automated storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
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providing a storage space with storage locations defined therein; transporting store units for storage in the storage locations and retrieving the store units from the storage locations with automated components of an automated transport system; managing throughput performance of the automated storage and retrieval system, with a control system, the control system having a distributed hierarchical arrangement comprising one or more high level controllers, one or more lower level controllers communicably connected to the one or more high level controllers, and one or more base controllers communicably connected to the lower level controllers, the one or more lower level controllers intervening between the one or more base controllers and the one or more high level controllers, where at least one of the lower level controllers independently manages request response aspects of throughput performance of a common group of the automated components independent of another of the lower level controllers, the request response aspects of the throughput performance being responsive separately from each request to input or output store units from the storage locations but distinct from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations; and generating, with the one or more high level controllers, high level tasks effecting throughput performance and managing, with the one or more high level controllers, the high level tasks including assigning high level tasks that determine distinct storage locations of corresponding store units throughput by the automated storage and retrieval system to the one or more lower level controllers. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for managing throughput performance of an automated storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
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providing a storage space with storage locations defined therein; transporting store units for storage in the storage locations and retrieving the store units from the storage locations with an automated transport system connected to the storage space; and managing throughput of the automated storage and retrieval system, with a control system, the control system being operably coupled to the automated transport system and having more than one separate and distinct control sections, where each of the more than one separate and distinct control section, in response to and distinct from requests to input or output store units from the storage locations, manages throughput performance with respect to a common group of the storage locations, wherein at least one of the control sections manages request response aspects of throughput performance of the common group independent of another of the control sections, the request response aspects of the throughput performance being responsive separately from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations but distinct from each of the requests to input or output store units from the storage locations and a portion of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the at least one of the control sections is decoupled from another portion of the throughput performance, with respect to the common group, managed by the other control section; providing, with an independent controller defined by at least one of the control sections, independent information to the control system effecting storage and retrieval and throughput performance independent of the other control section, and providing, with the other control section, other information to the control system effecting storage and retrieval and throughput performance, the other information being based on the independent information from the independent controller.
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Specification